SHORT  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND 


FOR 


YOUNG    PEOPLE 


MISS  E.  S.  K1RKLAND 

AUTHOR  OF  "A  SHORT  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE,"  "SIX  LITTLE  COOKS, 
"DORA'S  HOUSEKEEPING,"  "SPEECH  AND  MANNERS,"  ETC. 


CHICAGO 

A.  C.   McCLURG  &   COMPANY 
1891 


COPYRIGHT 
BY  A.  C.  McCLURG  AND  Co. 

A.D.  1891 


To  MY  CLASSES  IN  ENGLISH  HISTORY: 

You  already  know  something  of  American 
history.  For  two  hundred  years  it  was  closely 
connected  with  that  of  England,  and  it  is  but 
little  more  than  a  century  since  we  began  to 
have  a  history  exclusively  our  own.  England 
is  our  mother -country;  her  past  belongs  to  us 
as  much  as  it  does  to  the  English,  and  ought  to 
be  equally  interesting  to  us  and  them.  After 
reading  what  was  done  and  thought  by  our  ances- 
tors, you  will  understand  all  the  better  how  the 
separation  came  about  which  made  us  an  inde- 
pendent Nation. 

E.  S.  K. 
CHICAGO,  October,  1891. 


2098242 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER.  PAGE. 

I. — ANCIENT  BRITAIN  AND  THE  ROMANS,   -         -  7 

II. — THE  SAXONS  AND  THE  HEPTARCHY,  16 

III. — FROM  EGBERT  TO  THE  Six  BOY- KINGS,        -  25 

IV. — Six  BOY- KINGS  TO  NORMAN  CONQUEST,        -  33 

V. — THE  NORMAN  CONQUEST,  -  42 

VI. — NORMAN  ENGLAND.     WILLIAM  II.     HENRY  I.,  50 

VII. — WHITE  SHIP.     DEATH  OF  HENRY.     STEPHEN,  56 

VIII.— THE  FIRST  PLANTAGENET,  63 

IX. — RICHARD  I.  AND  THE  THIRD  CRUSADE,         -  73 

X. — JOHN  LACKLAND  AND  THE  MAGNA  CHARTA,  82 

XI. — HENRY  III.     SIMON  DE  MONTFORT.     FIRST 

HOUSE  OF  COMMONS, 90 

XII. — EDWARD  I.,  CONQUEROR  OF  WALES,         -  98 

XIII. — THE  WAR  WITH  SCOTLAND,    -  106 

XIV. — EDWARD  II.     BANNOCKBURN,     -        -        -  113 

XV. — EDWARD  III.     THE  HUNDRED  YEARS'  WAR,  120 

XVI. — THE  BLACK  PRINCE, 129 

XVII. — RICHARD  II.     WAT  TYLER.     BOLINGBROKE,  137 

XVIII. — HENRY  IV.     SHREWSBURY.     HENRY  V.,        -  147 
XIX. — AGINCOURT.     TREATY  OF  TROYES.     DEATH 

OF  HENRY  V.,       -        -    •    -•      -       -        -  154 

XX. — HENRY  VI.     WAR  IN  FRANCE.     JACK  CADE,  162 

XXI. — THE  WARS  OF  THE  ROSES,         -        -        -  170 

XXII. — EDWARD  IV.    LITTLE  PRINCES  IN  THE  TOWER,  178 

XXIII. — THE  LAST  PLANTAGENET.     THE  FIRST  TUDOR,  185 

XXIV. — THE  SIXTEENTH  CENTURY.     HENRY  VIII. ,  193 

XXV. — HENRY  THE  TYRANT;  ALSO  "DEFENDER  OF 

THE  FAITH,"         -        -       ...        .  201 

XXVI. — HENRY'S  WIVES.   ENGLISH  BIBLE.  EDWARD  VI.,  209 

XXVII. — LADY  JANE  GREY.    BLOODY  MARY.    CALAIS,  217 

XXVIII. — ELIZABETH.     MARY  QUEEN  OF  SCOTS,   -        -  225 

XXIX. — PLOTS.     THE  NAVIGATORS.     MARY  STUART,  233 

XXX. — THE  ARMADA.    IRELAND.    QUEEN'S  DEATH,  240 


VI  CONTENTS. 


XXXI. — SIXTEENTH  CENTURY  SUMMARY.    JAMES  I.,  249 
XXXII. — THE  BLOODY  HAND.     RALEIGH.     TRANS- 
LATION OF  THE  BIBLE,  257 
XXXIII. — CHARLES  I.     THE  LONG  PARLIAMENT,        -  264 
XXXIV. — CIVIL  WAR.     MARSTON  MOOR.     NASEBY,  273 
XXXV. — PRIDE'S  PURGE.    EXECUTION  OF  CHARLES  I. 

DUNBAR   AND    WORCESTER,  ...      279 

XXXVI. — THE  PROTECTORATE.     THE  RESTORATION,       287 
XXXVII. — CHARLES  II.     TRIPLE  ALLIANCE.     TREATY 

OF  DOVER, 295 

XXXVIII. — PLOTS.     HABEAS  CORPUS.     DEATH  OF 

CHARLES, 302 

XXXIX. — JAMES  II.     SEDGEMOOR.     SEVEN  BISHOPS. 

FLIGHT  OF  THE  KING,  310 

XL. — REVOLUTION  OF  1688.    WILLIAM  AND  MARY,    317 
XLI. — GLENCOE.     DEATH  OF  MARY.     PEACE  op 

RYSWICK.     DEATH  OF  WILLIAM  III.,       -    323 
XLII. — ANNE.     ACT  OF  SETTLEMENT.     WAR  OF 
THE  SPANISH  SUCCESSION.    UNION  WITH 
SCOTLAND.     DEATH,          ....    330 

XLIII. — GEORGE  I.     INVASION  OF  THE  PRETENDER. 

SOUTH-SEA  BUBBLE.  GEORGE  II.,  •  337 
XLIV. — WAR  WITH  SPAIN.  AUSTRIAN  SUCCESSION. 

YOUNG  PRETENDER.  QUEBEC,  -  -  345 
XLV. — SEVEN -YEARS'  WAR.  INDIA.  DEATH  OF 

GEORGE  II.     STAMP  ACT,         ...    353 

XLVI. — WAR  WITH  AMERICA.     PEACE  OF  VER- 
SAILLES.    WARREN  HASTINGS,          -        -    361 
XLVII. — THE  FRENCH  REVOLUTION.     NAPOLEON 

IN  EGYPT.     IRELAND,        ....    370 
XLVIII. — UNION  WITH  IRELAND.     TRAFALGAR.     OR- 
DERS  IN   COUNCIL.       PENINSULAR   WAR. 
WAR  OF  1812.    WATERLOO.    ST.  HELENA,     378 
XLIX. — DEATH  OF  GEORGE  III.     GEORGE  IV. 

CATHOLIC  EMANCIPATION.    WILLIAM  IV.,    386 
L. — PARLIAMENTARY  REFORM.     ABOLITION  OF 

SLAVERY.     VICTORIA,         ....    392 
LI. — BOUNDARY  TREATIES.     CORN -LAWS  RE- 
PEALED.    CRIMEAN  WAR,          -        -        -    399 
LII. — TREATY  OF  BERLIN.     EGYPT.     THE 

QUEEN'S  JUBILEE, 407 

LIST  OF  SOVEREIGNS,    -       -       -       -  -        414 


SHORT  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND 


FOR 


YOUNG   PEOPLE. 


CHAPTER  L 

ANCIENT    BRITAIN   AND   THE    ROMANS. 

|HE  earliest  name  for  the  country  now  called 
England  was  Albion,  which  we  find  in  the 
works  of  Greek  writers  more  than  three  hun- 
dred years  before  Christ.  When  the  Romans  went  there 
it  bore  the  name  of  Britain,  and  as  such  it  was  known  for 
many  Centuries.  Then  it  gradually  became  Angle-land, 
•or  England;  and  in  modern  times  the  inhabitants  have 
given  to  the  whole  island,  including  England,  Scotland, 
and  Wales,  the  name  of  Great  Britain. 

There  are  many  stories  told  about  the  Britons,  going 
back  as  far  as  eight  or  nine  centuries  before  Christ;  and 
although  there  is  reason  to  think  that  these  stories  were 
invented  by  writers  who  lived  long  afterward,  and  that 
|  we  really  know  nothing  about  the  old  Britons,  yet  it  is 
'well  to  know  something  of  the  fables. 

The  first  person  to  settle  in  Britain,  we  are  told,  was 
/one  Brutus,  (called  "Brut"  by  the  early  story-tellers),  who 

(7) 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


was  a  great-grandson  of  JEneas,  a  Trojan  warrior  and 
the  hero  of  Virgil's  ^Eneid.  This  Brutus  is  said  to  have 
conquered  a  race  of  giants  who  dwelt  in  the  country,  and 
to  have  built  on  the  River  Thames  a  city  which  he  called 
"New  Troy." 

Some  hundreds  of  years  after  this  we  hear  of  a  certain 
Prince  Bladud,  who,  being  afflicted  with  leprosy,  was 
obliged  to  leave  his  father's  palace  and  wander  about  the 
country.  By  a  lucky  accident  he  discovered  near  the 
River  Avon  some  hot  springs  in  which  he  bathed  himself 
and  was  completely  cured.  In  gratitude  for  this,  he  built 
a  city  around  the  magic  waters,  the  modern  successor 
whereof  is  known  by  the  name  of  Bath. 

The  son  of  this  prince  was  the  unhappy  King  Lear 
who  lives  for  us  in  Shakspeare's  pages.  The  old  story 
makes  Cordelia's  husband,  a  French  king,  help  poor  Lear 
to  his  throne  agairi,  driving  away  the  wicked  sisters;  but 
Shakspeare  has  altered  it  into  one  of  the  grandest  of  his 
tragedies,  and  the  king  and  his  lovely  daughter  both  die 
as  a  consequence  of  the  father's  over-trustfulness. 

After  several  centuries  there  comes  a  king  called  Lud, 
who  improved  the  city  of  New  Troy  and  built  walls  around 
it.  It  was  then  called  after  him  Lud's  Town,  or  what- 
ever answered  to  that  name  in  Celtic,  (the  language  of 
the  Britons);  the  Romans  called  it  Londinum,  and  it  has 
now  settled  down  into  London, 

The  son  of  this  King  Lud  was  named  Caswallon, 
(Latin,  Cassivelaunus),  and  as  he  was  the  king  or  chief 
reigning  in  Britain  when  it  was  invaded  by  the  Romans, 
he  belongs  to  the  period  of  authentic  history.  So  much 
for  fable. 

The  first  people  who  visited  the  shores  of  Britain  from 


ANCIENT  BRITAIN  AND   THE  ROMANS.  9 

southern  countries  were  undoubtedly  the  Phoenicians  and 
Carthaginians,  who  went  to  the  south-western  part  of  the 
island  (now  called  Cornwall),  to  obtain  a  supply  of  tin. 
They  made  no  settlements,  nor  did  they  leave  any  account 
of  what  they  saw  there,  so  we  may  pass  on  at  once  to  the 
invasion  by  Julius  Caesar,  which  took  place  55  B.C. 

The  Britons  whom  Caesar  attacked  were  fierce  and 
warlike  savages,  using  javelins  and  arrows  when  they 
fought,  as  well  as  shields  to  defend  themselves.  They 
had,  besides,  a  kind  of  blunt  sword,  which  does  not  seem 
to  have  done  much  harm.  They  rode  furiously  to  battle 
in  chariots  with  sharp  scythes  sticking  out  on  either  side, 
managing  their  well-trained  little  horses  with  wonderful 
skill.  In  winter  they  dressed  themselves  in  the  skins  of 
animals;  in  summer,  when  Caesar  first  saw  them,  they 
painted  or  tattooed  their  bodies  with  the  blue  juice  of  a 
plant  called  woad,  which  must  have  been  somewhat  like 
indigo.  They  had  learned  so  much  of  civilized  ways  as 
to  make  rough,  round  houses  of  sticks  and  clay,  with  a 
hole  at  the  top  to  let  out  the  smoke;  and  those  who  lived 
near  the  sea-shore  had  little  boats  called  coracles,  made 
of  basket-work  covered  with  leather. 

The  most  interesting  thing  to  us  about  the  Britons  is 
their  religion.  They  were  heathens,  and  their  priests, 
who  directed  all  their  affairs,  were  called  Druids.  Among 
these  Druids  were  the  bards,  or  song-makers,  who  told 
in  verse  the  stories  of  chiefs  and  heroes.  These  songs 
the  people  learned  by  heart  and  shouted  them  out  be- 
fore they  went  to  battle,  or  when  they  returned  after  a 
victory.  Other  poets  composed  hymns,  which  the  priests 
used  in  their  worship.  But  as  none  of  these  were  written 
down,  the  Druids  having  made  it  unlawful  to  keep  any 


10  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

record  of  what  was  done  on  these  occasions,  the  memory 
of  them  soon  faded  away. 

i  All  oak  trees  were  considered  sacred  by  the  Druids; 
and  where  the  mistletoe  plant  was  found  growing  upon 
one,  it  was  made  the  occasion  of  a  magnificent  festival. 
The  Druids  also  built  for  their  worship  a  kind  of  open-air 
temple,  formed  by  enclosing  a  large  space  of  ground  with 
stones  so  immense  that  we  wonder  to  this  day  how  they 
were  able  to  set  them  up  in  their  present  position. 

These  Druids  had  everything  their  own  way;  they 
w<re  not  only  priests  and  poets,  but  law-givers,  teachers, 
judges,  and  physicians;  and  they  took  care  to  keep  up 
the  idea  of  their  power  by  surrounding  themselves  with 
mystery.  The  most  ancient  of  their  temples  is  at  Stone- 
henge,  near  the  city  of  Salisbury;  but  another,  better 
preserved  and  more  nearly  perfect  in  form,  is  near  Kes- 
wick  in  Cumberland. 

Besides  the  harmless  ceremonies  already  mentioned, 
the  Druids  had  another  kind  of  worship  which  fills  our 
minds  with  horror;  the  sacrifice  of  human  beings.  Fear- 
ful tales  are  told  of  their  burning  alive  hundreds  of  per- 
sons at  once,  usually  criminals,  in  great  wicker  cages; 
and  what  are  called  "sacrificial  stones"  are  still  standing, 
on  which  we  can  imagine  the  victim  laid,  while  fierce 
faces  looked  eagerly  on,  waiting  for  the  death-stroke. 
The  remembrance  of  these  terrible  scenes  blots  out  the 
more  innocent  and  pleasing  parts  of  the  picture;  and  we 
,-are  glad  to  learn  that  about  a  hundred  years  after  the  in- 
vasion of  Britain  by  Julius  Caesar,  Druidism  was  abolished 
forever. 

This  great  general  was  engaged  in  a  war  in  Gaul,  (the 
modern  France),  a  country  occupied  by  a  race  of  men 


ANCIENT  BRITAIN  AND   THE  ROMANS.         11 

much  like  the  Britons,  when  it  occurred  to  him  that  there 
was  an  island  just  across  the  Channel  which  he  might  as 
well  add  to  his  other  conquests.  He  crossed  with  his 
army  over  the  narrowest  part  of  the  sea,  now  known  as 
the  Straits  of  Dover,  and  landed  at  a  place  called  Deal, 
not  far  from  the  present  city  of  Dover,  in  Kent.  The 
poor  Britons,  naked  savages  though  they  were  and  armed 
only  with  miserable  weapons,  fought  so  hard  with  their 
•dull  swords  and  weak  arrows  that  Caesar's  soldiers  were 
driven  back  more  than  once.  At  last,  however,  Roman 
discipline  and  Roman  steel  got  the  better  of  ignorant 
bravery,  and  after  the  loss  of  many  men,  Caesar  managed 
to  encamp  on  British  ground. 

The  summer  of  the  year  55  B.  C.  was  now  drawing  to 
a  close,  and  as  Caesar  was  afraid  of  the  equinoctial  gales 
he  decided  to  go  back  to  Gaul  and  leave  the  Britons 
.alone;  but  the  next  year,  54  B.  C.,  he  came  again,  for  he 
was  not  easily  turned  from  his  purposes.  (Remember, 
that  in  counting  the  years  before  the  birth  of  Christ,  the 
number  grows  less  and  less  as  it  gets  nearer  to  our  own 
time).  The  Britons  were  not  in  Caesar's  day  one  solid 
nation,  governed  by  a  king  or  chief;  they  were  divided 
into  many  tribes,  which  were  always  quarreling  with  one 
another,  and  scarcely  ever  acted  together;  being,  like 
most  savages,  ignorant  of  the  fact  that  "union  is  strength." 
It  happened  just  at  this  time,  however,  that  the  brave 
and  spirited  Caswallon,  who  has  been  already  mentioned, 
was  chosen  general  over  several  of  the  tribes  in  the  south- 
eastern part  of  Britain,  and  under  his  direction  they  agreed 
to  combine  against  the  intruders.  Caswallon  was  driven 
back  by  Caesar's  large  and  well-trained  army,  and  then 
the  British  union  melted  away.  Deserted  by  his  neigh- 


12  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

bors,  he  was  at  last  obliged  to  beg  for  peace,  which  Caesar 
granted  on  very  easy  terms.  He  demanded  a  tribute, 
which  was  probably  never  paid,  and  a  few  hostages,  of 
whom  we  hear  nothing  further;  then,  getting  into  their 
boats  with  all  convenient  speed,  the  Romans  sailed 
away. 

Such  was  the  so-called  "Conquest  of  Britain."  Caesar 
took  no  towns,  left  no  garrisons,  carried  away  no  spoils, 
and  marched  into  the  country  only  a  few  miles  from  the 
sea-coast.  It  is  true  that  he  defeated  the  Britons  in  sev- 
eral battles,  but  this  was  all;  and  for  a  hundred  years 
after  he  left  the  island  they  were  as  independent  of  the 
Romans,  except  for  some  commercial  intercourse,  as  they 
had  been  before  he  came.  His  invasion  was  of  some 
advantage  to  them,  however;  they  sent  the  products  of 
their  country  to  Rome,  getting  valuable  commodities  in 
return;  and,  what  was  more  important,  some  of  their 
young  men  went  there  to  be  educated,  and  brought  back 
with  them  a  knowledge  of  Roman  civilization. 

In  the  year  43  A.  D.,  a  British  traitor  advised  the  em- 
peror Claudius  to  send  an  army  to  conquer  his  native 
country,  and  a  general  named  Aulus  Plautius  was  sent  to 
Britain.  This  time  the  Britons  were  really  vanquished, 
but  it  took  long  years  to  accomplish  the  conquest ;  and 
many  a  Roman  soldier  found  a  grave  on  British  soil  before 
the  fierce  patriots  would  give  up  the  struggle.  A  very 
able  British  chieftain  named  Cynobelin,  (called  by  Shak- 
speare  "Cymbeline,"  in  his  play  of  that  name),  had  died 
just  before  Aulus  Plautius  came  to  the  island,  but  even 
though  he  had  lived  it  would  have  made  little  difference; 
Rome  was  too  powerful  for  the  Britons. 

Another  prince  about  whom  many  romantic  stories  are 


ANCIENT  BRITAIN  AND   THE  ROMANS.         13 

told  was  Caradoc,  (Latin,  Caractacus).  This  fine  soldier 
made  a  brilliant  defence  among  the  mountains  of  Wales, 
but  was  finally  overcome,  taken  prisoner,  and  carried  to 
Rome  with  his  family.  When  he  was  taken  before  Clau- 
dius, after  being  marched  through  the  streets  in  the  train 
of  the  victorious  general,  he  made  an  address  to  the  em- 
peror so  noble  and  touching  that  the  latter  set  him  at 
liberty. 

It  was  next  the  Druids'  turn  to  suffer.  They  had  grad-  / 
ually  retired  to  their  sacred  island  of  Mona,  now  called 
Anglesey,  at  the  north-western  extremity  of  Wales,  and 
there  they  were  practising  their  religion,  feeling  quite 
safe  from  any  interference.  But  the  Roman  general  Sue- 
tonius, suspecting  that  this  stronghold  of  the  Druids 
afforded  a  refuge  to  rebels,  pursued  them  into  their  re- 
treat, defeated  them  in  battle,  and,  if  we  may  believe  the 
hideous  story,  burned  them  alive  in  their  own  wicker 
cages. 

While  these  dreadful  things  were  taking  place  in  Ang- 
lesey, others,  different  but  also  terrible,  were  going  on 
elsewhere.  A  native  tribe  called  the  Iceni  had  been  left 
by  their  chief  at  his  death  under  the  command  of  his 
queen,  Boadicea,  in  the  hope  that  even  the  Romans  would 
respect  her  position  as  a  woman.  But  he  did  not  know 
them.  She  and  her  daughters  were  shamefully  treated, 
and  the  queen  was  scourged,  according  to  the  cruel 
Roman  practice,  by  the  hard-hearted  conquerors.  As 
was  natural,  her  people  determined  to  avenge  these  in- 
sults, and  a  battle  followed  where  Boadicea,  standing  up 
in  her  chariot,  her  long  yellow  hair  streaming  behind  her 
and  her  royal  robes  displayed  in  their  utmost  splendor, 
fought  like  a  tigress;  but  the  Britons  were  no  match  for 


14  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

their  enemies.  They  broke  their  ranks  and  fled,  and  the 
unhappy  queen  ended  her  life  by  poison.  Cowper's 
poem  of  "Boadicea,"  beginning: 

"When  the  British  warrior-queen 
Bleeding  from  the  Roman  rods;" 

presents  a  thrilling  picture  of  her  heroism  and  her  suffer- 
ings. 

A  pleasanter  subject  is  the  rule  of  Julius  Agricola,  a 
Roman  general  who  was  sent  to  Britain  about  80  A.  D. 
He  taught  the  natives  to  cultivate  the  ground,  (the  word 
Agricola  means  farmer),  to  build  good  houses,  to  make 
roads  and  bridges;  he  made  the  collection  of  taxes  as 
easy  as  possible,  and  allowed  no  inferior  officer  to  oppress 
the  people.  He  defended  them  against  their  troublesome 
neighbors  the  Picts  and  Scots,  who  lived  in  the  northern 
part  of  the  island,  then  called  Caledonia,  the  old  name 
for  Scotland.  The  Scots  came  from  Ireland,  but  we 
know  very  little  about  the  Picts  except  that  they  were 
probably  a  tribe  of  the  ancient  Britons.  To  keep  them 
in  their  own  country,  Agricola  built  a  line  of  forts  stretch- 
ing across  Scotland,  or  rather  Caledonia,  from  the  Frith 
of  Forth  to  the  Clyde.)  In  the  next  century,  (the  second 
after  Christ),  a  stone  wall  sixteen  feet  high  and  twelve 
broad  was  built  farther  to  the  south,  from  the  Solway 
Frith  to  the  River  Tyne.  Traces  of  the  latter,  which  was 
called  "The  Picts'  Wall,"  may  still  be  seen  in  Northum- 
berland. 

Britain  had  now  settled  down  quietly  into  the  condition 
of  a  Roman  province.  The  conquerors,  with  that  prac- 
tical wisdom  which  marked  everything  they  did,  made 
the  inhabitants  as  proud  of  being  Roman  citizens  as  they 
had  been  before  of  being  independent  Britons.  Magni- 


ANCIENT  BRITAIN  AND   THE  ROMANS.         15- 

ficent  buildings  were  put  up  in  various  parts  of  the  island;, 
excellent  roads  were  made,  forts  were  built  so  strong  that 
they  were  expected  to  last  for  thousands  of  years — they 
have  all  tumbled  to  pieces  centuries  ago — and  all  the 
evidences  of  what  is  called  material  civilization  were 
abundant  in  the  land.  The  most  important  town  was 
York,  (British,  Caer-Ebroc;  Latin,  Eboracum),  and  very 
interesting  remains  of  the  Roman  times  have  been  dis- 
covered there.  Among  others  is  a  heavy  coil  of  auburn 
hair,  found  in  the  stone  coffin  of  some  British  lady,  with 
the  jet  pins  still  fastened  in  it  just  as  she  was  buried  with 
them  perhaps  fifteen  hundred  years  ago. 

We  have  seen  that  the  Druid  priests,  as  a  body,  were 
destroyed  by  the  Roman  general  Suetonius.  Their  reli- 
gion fell  with  them,  and  the  Britons  were  obliged,  in  out- 
ward appearance  at  least,  to  adopt  that  of  their  conquer- 
ors, the  old  mythological  system.  It  is  not  known  at. 
what  time  Christianity  was  introduced  into  the  island. 
Tradition  says  it  was  at  a  very  early  period,  and  as  the 
British  church  was  represented  by  three  bishops  at  the 
Council  of  Aries,  in  Gaul,  in  the  year  314  A.  D.,  we  have 
proof  that  it  was  well  established  before  that  date.  The 
first  martyr  to  the  Christian  faith,  St.  Alban,  is  thought 
to  have  lived  toward  the  end  of  the  third  century.  The 
emperor  Constantine  made  Christianity  the  religion  of 
the  whole  Roman  empire  early  in  the  fourth  century,  so 
we  may  look  upon  the  inhabitants  of  Britain  from  that 
time  as  being  wholly  converted  to  the  Christian  faith.* 
Constantine's  father,  Constantius  Chlorus,  an  able  general 
and  most  excellent  man,  lived  in  Britain  for  many  years, 
and  his  wife,  Helena,  who  was  herself  a  Christian,  is  said 
to  have  been  a  British  princess.  The  reign  of 


16  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

tine  was  the  happiest  and  most  tranquil  period  of  the 
Roman  dominion  in  Britain.  Dark  times  were  to  come, 
and  the  fair  island  was  for  centuries  a  scene  of  confusion 
and  bloodshed. 


CHAPTER  Ii. 

THE    SAXONS    AND   THE    HEPTARCHY. 

JOST  of  the  troubles  of  the  Britons  during  the 
fourth  century  A.  D.  came  from  their  unruly 
neighbors,  the  Picts  and  Scots.  It  also  some- 
happened  that  they  unluckily  chose  the  wrong  em- 
peror when  more  than  one  laid  claim  to  the  Roman 
crown,  and  were  severely  punished  when  the  next  one  set 
up  his  authority;  but  these  were  small  evils  compared  to 
the  torments  they  endured  from  the  unconquered  and 
unconquerable  savages  of  the  north.  To  add  to  their 
misery  a  new  enemy  appeared  on  the  eastern  coast,  the 
Saxons,  who  were  so  destructive  that  a  special  officer 
was  appointed  to  look  after  them,  called  "The  Count  of 
the  Saxon  Shore."  For  some  years  the  great  Roman 
general  Theodosius,  a  worthy  successor  of  Agricola  and 
Constantius  Chlorus,  made  Britain  once  more  a  land  of 
happiness  and  peace.  After  his  departure,  they  quite 
innocently  took  up  the  cause  of  a  pretender.  A  large 
number  of  them  followed  him  into  Gaul;  and  when  he 
was  defeated  and  killed  they  passed  into  Armorica,  that 
peninsula  in  the  western  part  of  France  which  separates 
the  English  Channel  from  the  Bay  of  Biscay.  They 
hoped  to  cross  over  from  there  to  their  own  country,  and 


THE  SAXONS  AND   THE  HEPTARCHY.  17 

try  to  hide  away  in  Cornwall  from  the  vengeance  of  the 
successful  emperor,  but  being  kindly  received  by  the 
Armoricans  they  were  induced  to  stay  and  settle  among 
them.  Here  they  were  joined  by  so  many  of  their  coun- 
trymen that  the  peninsula  received  from  them  the  name 
of  Brittany,  which  it  bears  to  this  day. 

The  worst  misfortune  of  all  those  which  befel  the  un- 
happy country  was  yet  to  come.  The  Romans,  them- 
selves in  terror  of  the  wild  nations  who  were  ravaging 
their  beautiful  Italy,  declared  that  they  could  no  longer 
keep  up  an  army  in  Britain.  The  Britons  were  in  despair; 
they  begged  and  prayed  so  piteously  for  help  that  skilful 
generals  were  several  times  sent  to  their  relief;  but  the 
time  came  when  prayers  were  of  no  avail,  and  about 
420  A.  D.  the  last  Roman  garrison  set  sail  from  Britain, 
to  return  no  more. 

Now  was  the  chance  for  the  Picts  and  Scots.  They 
had  already  ravaged  the  country  between  the  two  Roman 
walls  so  many  times  that  it  had  become  a  desert  and  they 
could  not  find  there  anything  to  steal  or  any  people  worth 
killing;  so  they  came  boldly  over  the  southern  wall,  no 
longer  guarded  by  Roman  soldiers,  and  the  Britons  lost 
heart  and  hope.  In  the  four  hundred  years  during  which 
Rome  had  been  their  mistress  they  had  become  tame 
and  spiritless,  having  had  but  little  use  for  their  weapons, 
and  now  they  were  at  the  mercy  of  enemies  as  ferocious 
as  they  themselves  had  been  when  they  fought  against 
Caesar.  They  sent  to  the  Roman  counsul  Ae'tius,  gov- 
ernor of  Gaul,  a  letter  which  they  called  "The  Groans  of 
the  Britons."  "The  barbarians,"  they  said,  "drive  us  to 
the  sea;  the  sea  throws  us  back  on  the  swords  of  the 
barbarians;  we  have  nothing  left  us  but  the  wretched 
'2 


18  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

choice  of  being  either  drowned  or  butchered."  But 
Aetius  could  not  help  them,  and  they  had  recourse  to  the 
Saxons,  the  general  name  given  to  the  pirates  who  came 
over  the  North  Sea. 

Nobody  knows  exactly  where  these  marauders  came 
from,  but  probably  it  was  from  what  is  now  Denmark,, 
(then  called  Jutland),  .and  the  north-western  part  of  Ger- 
many. 

In  an  evil  hour  Vortigern,  the  chief  man  among  the 
Britons,  driven  to  despair  by  the  constant  inroads  of 
the  Picts  and  Scots,  invited  these  Saxon  pirates  to  come 
and  help  his  countrymen  against  their  northern  foes. 
They  came,  they  saw  more  than  they  had  ever  seen  be- 
fore of  the  beautiful  and  fertile  island,  and  they  made  it 
their  own.  They  fell  on  the  land,  as  a  modern  writer 
expresses  it,  "like  wolves  on  a  sick  deer."  There  were 
three  of  these  heathen  tribes,  the  Angles,  the  Saxons,  and 
the  Jutes;  but  in  old  times  they  were  all  lumped  together 
as  Saxons,  while  now  it  has  become  the  fashion  to  speak 
of  them  all  as  English.  The  name  is  of  no  consequence, 
but  the  descendants  of  races  thus  mingled  were  destined 
to  become  the  mightiest  upon  earth. 

The  Saxons,  as  we  call  them  for  convenience,  landed  at 
a  place  called  the  Isle  of  Thanet,  in  Kent  Since  then 
the  drifting  sand  has  filled  up  the  channel  which  sepa- 
rated it  from  the  rest  of  Kent,  so  that  it  is  a  part  of 
the  main  land;  but  we  can  still  tell  pretty  nearly  where 
our  ancestors  set  foot,  in  England  in  the  year  449  A.  D., 
almost  exactly  five  hundred  years  after  the  first  visit  of 
Julius  Caesar. 

The  Saxon  leaders  were  two  brothers,  Henghist  and 
Horsa,  and  it  is  said  that  the  British  King  Vortigern 


THE  SAXONS  AND   THE  HEPTARCHY.  19 

married  a  blue-eyed  daughter  of  Henghist,  the  pretty  Row- 
ena,  so  for  a  while  all  were  good  friends.  But  the  Sax- 
ons, disregarding  the  fact  that  they  had  come  to  the  island 
expressly  as  the  allies  and  guests  of  the  natives,  made 
peace  with  the  Scots  and  Picts,  and  then  all  together  fell 
upon  the  cheated  and  betrayed  Britons  and  plunged  them 
again  into  the  horrors  of  war.  Horsa  was  killed  in  bat- 
tle, King  Vortigern  was  deposed  by  his  own  people,  who 
thought  he  favored  the  Saxons  too  much,  and  fresh  bands 
of  pirates  came  over  the  ocean,  at  the  invitation  of  their 
countrymen,  who  soon  took  possession  of  the  whole 
island.  Having  a  heathen  religion  of  their  own  to  which 
they  were  very  much  attached,  they  were  particularly 
furious  against  everything  that  had  to  do  with  Christianity. 
They  burned  the  churches,  killed  or  drove  away  the 
priests  and  monks,  and  seized  upon  everything  precious, 
such  as  the  gold  and  silver  vessels  contained  in  the  sacred 
buildings.  It  was  not  so  much  that  they  wanted  these 
things  as  that  they  hated  the  people  who  had  them.  As 
soon  as  the  dreaded  name  of  "Saxon"  was  heard,  the 
clergy  gathered  up  such  possessions  as  they  could  take 
with  them  and  fled,  leaving  all  the  rest,  including  their 
few  and  precious  manuscripts,  to  the  mercy  of  the  torch 
and  axe.  The  wonder  is  that  they  were  able  to  keep  up 
as  a  church  at  all,  in  the  midst  of  such  frightful  discour- 
agements. The  victory  of  the  Saxons  meant  the  triumph 
of  heathendom  over  Christianity  for  the  time  being.  As 
for  the  Britons  in  general,  those  who  were  not  killed  or 
made  slaves  were  driven  out  of  the  country,  most  of  them 
taking  refuge  among  the  mountains  of  Wales,  where  their 
descendants  still  live.  Others  went  to  Cornwall  in  the 
south-western  part  of  England,  a  wild,  rocky  district 


20  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

where  their  enemies  could  not  pursue  them,  while  others 
again  crossed  over  the  channel  to  Brittany,  which  had 
already  begun  to  be  called  by  their  name.  They  do  not 
seem  to  have  mingled  very  generally  with  the  Saxons  by 
marriage  any  more  than  they  had  done  with  the  Romans. 
The  truth  is  that  the  Saxons  were  by  far  the  cleverer  of 
the  two  races;  and  being  absolutely  without  an  idea  of 
fair  dealing  or  truth-telling,  they  had  the  simple-minded 
British  Christians  at  a  great  disadvantage. 

We  must  not  close  our  account  of  the  Britons  without 
saying  something  about  King  Arthur,  a  person  of  whom 
so  many  wonderful  stories  are  told  that  for  a  long  time  it 
was  supposed  that  he  was  no  more  a  real  man  than  was 
Prince  Bladud.  But  there  seems  no  reason  why  there 
should  not  have  been  a  heroic  British  prince  of  the  name 
who  fought  bravely  against  the  Saxons  that  were  trying  to 
destroy  his  country,  and  was  finally  killed  in  a  battle  with 
them.  With  him  ends  the  story  of  the  old  Britons — a 
brave,  simple-minded,  unfortunate  race.  It  is  supposed 
that  they  were  finally  put  down  by  the  Saxons  in  the  sixth 
century  after  Christ. 

One  curious  story  about  King  Arthur  is  that  he  had  a 
large  round  table,  made  so  that  when  he  and  his  friends 
sat  at  dinner  together  there  should  be  no  head  or  foot 
to  it,  but  all  should  be  on  an  equality.  The  companions 
who  used  to  feast  with  him  there  were  called  "  Knights  of 
the  Round  Table." 

The  Saxons  did  not  form  one  undivided  kingdom,  any 
more  than  the  Britons  had  done.  Coming  into  the  coun- 
try at  different  times,  as  they  did,  each  robber-chief  ruled 
over  as  much  land  as  he  could  seize  and  defend,  and  the 
island,  or  rather  the  southern  part  of  it,  (now  called  Eng- 


THE  SAXONS  AND    THE  HEPTARCHY.  21 

land),  was  divided,  at  some  time,  into  seven  small  king- 
doms. This  arrangement  was  called  the  Heptarchy,  the 
word  meaning  a  government  of  seven,  but  there  was 
nothing  lasting  about  it.  Sometimes  there  were  more 
than  seven,  sometimes  fewer,  and  there  was  never  a  time 
when  there  was  not  fighting  going  on  among  them. 

The  first  of  these  kingdoms  to  be  set  up  was  Kent,  in 
the  south-eastern  part  of  the  island.  This  was  settled  by 
the  Jutes,  who  are  often  spoken  of  as  Saxons.  Later 
arose  the  three  kingdoms  of  the  South  Saxons,  (Sussex), 
West  Saxons,  (Wessex),  and  East  Saxons,  (Essex).  The 
part  ruled  over  by  the  Angles  was  called  Anglia,  and  was 
divided  into  the  country  of  the  North-folk,  (Norfolk),  and 
the  South-folk,  (Suffolk).  The  middle  kingdom  of  the 
island  was  called  Mercia,  and  the  extreme  northern  one 
was  formed  of  two  provinces  which  together  made  Nor- 
thumbria,  this  name  meaning,  "the  land  north  of  the 
Humber." 

Now  that  the  fierce  Saxons  are  firmly  established  in 
Britain,  the  rightful  owners  of  the  land  being  driven  away 
and  the  Picts  and  Scots  shut  up  in  their  own  country  of 
Caledonia,  we  come  to  the  most  important  thing  that 
ever  happened  in  their  history  after  the  migration. 

In  the  course  of  the  wars  which  everybody  in  that  age 
of  the  world  was  always  carrying  on  with  everybody  else, 
it  chanced  that  some  English  children  were  carried  to 
Rome  to  be  sold  for  slaves.  There  they  were  seen  by 
the  good  abbot  Gregory,  who  was  pleased  with  their  fair 
hair  and  blue  eyes,  and  asked  who  they  were.  "They 
are  Angles,"  was  the  reply.  "If  they  were  Christians 
they  would  be  not  Angles,  but  angels,"  *  answered  the 

* ' '  Non  Angli,  sed  angeli. " 


22  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

abbot.  From  this  time  Gregory  desired  nothing  so  much 
as  to  go  as  a  missionary  to  these  fair-haired  Angles  who 
might  so  easily  be  made  angels.  After  a  while  he  was 
made  Pope  himself,  and  one  of  the  first  things  he  thought 
of  was  his  old  project  for  converting  the  English.  He 
sent  Augustine*  with  forty  other  monks,  to  the  island, 
where  they  were  kindly  received  by  Ethelbert,  king  of 
Kent,  who  was  also  Bretwalda,  (Britain-wielder),  or  head 
of  all  the  tribes.  Ethelbert  had  married  a  French  Chris- 
tian princess,  named  Bertha;  and  when  St.  Augustine 
asked  leave  to  preach  to  the  Saxons,  Ethelbert  consented, 
though  he  would  not  at  first  allow  the  monks  to  come 
under  any  roof  for  fear  of  evil  spirits,  but  made  them  hold 
their  meetings  in  the  open  air.  After  a  while  he  became 
himself  a  convert,  and  as  it  was  thought  the  proper  thing 
in  those  days  for  the  mass  of  the  people  to  adopt  the 
religion  of  their  ruler,  ten  thousand  of  the  warriors  of 
Britain  followed  his  example,  and  were  baptized  by  St. 
Augustine,  who  was  afterward  made  the  first  Archbishop 
of  Canterbury.  It  would  be  too  much  to  expect  that  all 
these  converts  became  good  and  holy  men;  a  part  of 
them  remained  cruel,  untruthful,  and  treacherous;  but 
when  the  gentle  and  merciful  religion  of  Christ  had  once 
found  a  footing  among  them  it  did  produce  some  effect, 
and  many  of  them  left  off  their  barbarous  ways  and  set 
about  tilling  the  ground  and  living  peacefully.  There 
were  still  doings  horrible  enough  to  make  one's  heart  sick 
only  to  read  about  them;  but,  on  the  whole,  the  nation 
had  taken  a  turn  for  the  better.  The  other  kingdoms, 
one  by  one,  followed  the  example  of  Kent;  churches 

"Pronounced  Augus'tine,  accentuating  the  second  syllable. 


THE   SAXONS  AND   THE  HEPTARCHY.          23 

were  built  and  monasteries  founded;*  and  though  the 
pagans  at  first  attacked  their  Christian  neighbors,  they 
•ended  by  believing  in  the  god  of  the  Christians  and  giv- 
ing up  those  they  had  formerly  worshipped.  This  was 
•a  good  thing  for  them,  too  (though  they  did  not  know  it), 
in  their  intercourse  with  other  countries.  During  the 
fifth  and  sixth  centuries,  when  the  main  part  of  Britain 
-was  heathen,  it  was  scarcely  mentioned  by  the  writers  of 
that  time;  but  now  it  began  again  to  take  its  place  among 
nations  and  to  be  spoken  of  with  respect.  The  world 
•could  not  help  knowing  that  a  people  who  believed  in 
Christianity  were  greater  and  nobler  than  those  who  had 
no  better  gods  than  Thor  and  Woden. 

From  the  time  of  the  first  landing  of  the  Saxons  in  449 
A.  D.,  to  the  coming  of  St.  Augustine  in  597,  about  a  hun- 
dred and  fifty  years  had  passed.  Britain  may  now  be 
said  to  have  been  completely  conquered  and  settled  by 
the  tribes  of  Angles,  Saxons,  and  Jutes.  The  British 
language  was  replaced  by  old  English,  (generally  called 
Saxon)  and  the  old  Roman  laws  by  those  made  by  the 
Saxons  for  themselves.  The  next  event  of  importance 
in  connection  with  the  Saxon  Heptarchy  is  the  bringing 
of  all  the  kingdoms  together  under  one  government  by 
Egbert,  King  of  Wessex,  in  827  A.  D. 

We  owe  a  part  of  our  knowledge  of  what  I  have  been 
telling  you  to  a  monk  named  Gildas,  who  lived  while 
Briton  and  Saxon  were  struggling  together  to  see  which 

*A  monastery  or  convent  was  a  place  where  many  men  lived  to- 
gether in  order  to  give  up  their  whole  time  to  religious  duties.  After 
a  time  women  began  to  live  together  in  the  same  way  and  for  the 
same  purpose;  then,  to  distinguish  the  two  kinds  of  institutions, 
those  for  women  were  called  convents,  and  those  for  men,  monasteries. 


24  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

could  keep  possession  of  the  beautiful  country  one  owned 
and  the  other  wanted;  and  another  part  to  a  monk 
named  Bede,  usually  called  "The  Venerable,"  who  came 
perhaps  a  hundred  and  fifty  years  later.  Bede  lived  a 
beautiful  life  and  died  a  beautiful  death.  He  was  prob- 
ably the  most  learned  man  in  England.  The  Pope 
wished  to  make  him  a  bishop,  but  he  chose  to  remain  a 
simple  monk  and  to  spend  his  life  in  teaching.  It  is  said 
that  as  many  as  six  hundred  young  men  came  at  one  time 
to  be  instructed  by  him,  for  at  that  time  there  were  no 
colleges  or  universities,  and  no  schools  except  those  in 
the  monasteries.  When  Bede  was  a  very  old  man,  and 
near  his  death,  he  was  busy  in  translating  the  Gospel  of 
St.  John  into  the  Saxon  language.  The  young  monk 
who  was  writing  it  down  for  him  said:  "You  must  be  very 
tired,  master;  will  you  not  rest?"  "No,"  said  Bede; 
"there  is  but  little  more  to  do.  Write  quickly;  I  must 
finish  my  work."  The  last  verse  was  written;  he  was 
laid,  by  his  own  desire,  upon  the  floor,  his  head  supported 
in  his  pupil's  arms;  and  with  the  words  "Glory  to  God!" 
on  his  lips,  he  passed  quietly  away. 

You  can  see  how  strong  an  impression  the  Saxons  left 
on  the  country  they  conquered  if  you  notice  the  names 
of  our  days  of  the  week.  Every  one  is  named  after  a 
Saxon  heathen  god  or  goddess;  even  Saturday,  which 
most  persons  suppose  to  be  named  for  the  Roman  Saturn, 
is  from  a  Saxon  god  called  Sseter.  Sunday  and  Monday 
are  from  the  sun  and  moon,  Tuesday  from  Tuisco,  Wed- 
nesday from  Woden,  Thursday  from  Thor,  and  Friday 
from  Freya,  the  northern  Venus.  The  names  of  the 
months,  on  the  other  hand,  remain  as  the  Romans  left 
them. 


FROM  EGBERT  TO   THE  SIX  BOY-KINGS.       25 
CHAPTER   III. 

FROM    EGBERT   TO   THE    SIX    BOY- KINGS. 

Y  the  end  of  the  eighth  century  the  kingdoms 
of  the  Heptarchy,  whether  more  or  fewer  than 
seven,  were  in  a  very  unsettled  state.  There 
had  been  a  great  deal  of  annexing  by  strong  monarchs 
and  giving  up  by  weak  ones,  which  naturally  takes  place 
whenever  it  happens  that  one  country  contains  several 
independent  and  rival  states.  Then  there  usually  arises 
one  person  wiser  and  more  able  than  the  others,  who  gets 
hold  of  the  possessions  of  the  rest,  one  after  another,  and 
is  finally  acknowledged  by  all  as  their  master.  So  it  was 
with  Egbert,  who  was  at  first  only  king  of  Wessex  (that 
is,  of  the  West  Saxons).  The  whole  country  now  began 
to  be  called  England,  (Angle-land),  though  the  name 
did  not  come  into  general  use  until  the  tenth  century. 
'Egbert,  before  he  became  king  of  all  England,  spent 
some  time  at  the  court  of  Charlemagne,  who  ruled  over 
France  (the  ancient  Gaul).  The  latter,  being  a  most 
enlightened  man,  encouraged  learning  in  every  way,  and 
even  had  a  school  in  his  palace  for  his  children  and  their 
companions.  Egbert's  own  country  had  furnished  one  of 
the  teachers  in  Charlemagne's  "School  of  the  Palace." 
When  Egbert  returned  to  England,  which  he  did  on 
the  death  of  a  rival  king  of  Wessex,  his  first  work  was  to 
fall  upon  his  neighbors,  conquer  them,  and  add  their 
kingdoms  to  his  own,  until  nearly  all  of  what  is  now  Eng- 
land submitted  to  him,  though  some  kings  were  allowed 
to  keep  their  empty  titles.  He  was  the  last  person  to  be 


•26  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

elected  Bretwalda,  as  he  was  the  first  king  of  all  England ; 
so  the  change  from  a  Heptarchy  to  a  monarchy  was 
greater  in  name  than  in  reality.  Under  his  rule  the  coun- 
try enjoyed  more  peace  and  prosperity  than  it  had  known 
for  a  long  time,  and  the  only  serious  trouble  he  had  after 
uniting  the  seven  kingdoms  into  one,  was  from  a  new 
enemy,  the  Danes,  who  had  begun  to  make  their  appear- 
ance on  the  English  coast. 

The  island  of  Britain,  for  the  first  thousand  years  of 
what  we  may  call  its  civilized  life,  was  always  a  mark  for 
the  ambition  or  the  greed  of  other  nations.  First  there 
were  the  Roir-ans,  then  the  Scots  and  Picts,  then  the 
Angles,  Saxons,  and  Jutes,  and  now  the  Danes.  The 
new  pirates  were  as  fierce,  as  strong,  as  cruel,  as  the  Eng- 
lish themselves  had  been  when  they  swooped  down  upon 
the  Britons,  and  at  first  one  is  inclined  to  say,  "served 
them  right!"  But  we  must  remember  that  these  were  not 
the  same  English  as  those  earlier  freebooters  had  been, 
but  their  descendants,  grown  comparatively  peaceful,  and 
willing  to  live  quietly  at  home  and  mind  their  own  busi- 
ness. The  Danish  flag  became  to  them  a  sight  of  horror. 
It  was  of  a  blood-red  color,  with  a  black  raven  pictured 
On  it;  and  when  the  wind  waved  the  flag  the  Danes  de- 
clared that  the  raven  was  flapping  his  wings  in  sign  of 
victory.  To  the  suffering  English  the  emblem  meant 
only  misery  and  destruction. 

On  Egbert's  death,  (836),  his  son  Ethelwolf  became 
king.  This  prince  had  not  the  military  spirit  of  his  father, 
and  the  Danes  began  to  come  to  England  every  year, 
landing  sometimes  in  one  place  and  sometimes  in  an- 
other, so  that  the  unfortunate  English  never  knew  when 
to  be  ready  for  them.  Fire,  slaughter,  and  plunder,  went 


FROM  EGBERT  TO   THE  SIX  BOY -KINGS.       27 

Avith  them  everywhere,  and  they  found  a  strange  pleasure 
in  destroying  all  that  they  could  not  use.  They  managed 
to  make  settlements,  first  on  the  Isle  of  Thanet,  (where 
the  Saxons  landed  in  449  and  St.  Augustine  in  597),  and 
then  at  a  place  nearer  London  called  the  Isle  of  Sheppey. 
Ethelwolf  defeated  them  several  times  in  battle,  and  then, 
though  he  knew  that  his  country  was  bleeding  from  their 
•cruel  swords,  went  on  a  pilgrimage  to  Rome  to  see  the 
Pope,  taking  with  him  his  son  Alfred,  six  years  old. 

Ethelwolf  died  not  long  after  his  return  to  England, 
•(858),  leaving  four  sons,  each  of  whom  became  king  in 
.his  turn.  Of  the  first  three,  Ethelbald,  Ethelbert,  and 
Ethelred,  ("Ethel"  means  "noble"),  there  is  not  much 
to  be  said.  They  all  had  to  fight  the  Danes,  but  this, 
unhappily,  is  too  old  a  story  to  be  worth  repeating;  so 
we  will  pass  on  to  the  reign  of  Alfred,  who  was  perhaps 
.at  once  the  greatest  and  the  best  man  that  ever  sat  on 
the  throne  of  England.  He  became  king  by  the  death 
of  his  brother  Ethelred  in  872  A.  D. 

Noble,  strong,  wise,  truth-telling  Alfred !  The  smallest 
thing  about  him  is  interesting  to  us.  In  those  days  very 
few  persons  could  read,  and  there  were  scarcely  any 
books  to  be  had  for  love  or  money;  but  Osburga,  Alfred's 
mother,  had  been  so  fortunate  as  to  get  possession  of  a 
beautiful  illuminated*  book  which  she  promised  to  the 
•one  of  her  sons  who  should  first  learn  to  read.  Alfred 
at  once  set  about  studying,  and  was  soon  able  to  claim 
the  book  for  his  own.  This  was  about  six  hundred  years 
before  printing  was  invented,  so  that  each  book  had  to 
be  copied  out  by  hand;  and  such  work,  taking  much 
time,  was  very  costly. 

*  A  book  having  pictures  on  the  margin  of  the  page. 


28  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

We  do  not  hear  anything  more  about  Alfred  until  he 
was  twenty-two  years  old,  when  his  brother  Ethelred,  (a 
fine  young  man,  much  like  Egbert),  was  killed  in  fighting 
against  the  Danes.  It  was  a  discouraging  moment  for 
the  new  king.  Many  of  his  towns  and  villages  had  been 
lurned,  the  best  and  bravest  of  his  subjects  had  been 
massacred,  and  much  of  the  best  land  in  his  kingdom 
was  left  without  ploughing  or  planting  because  the  inso- 
lent Danes  were  settled  in  the  very  heart  of  the  country, 
ready  to  snatch  away  everything  as  soon  as  it  was  grown 
and  ready  for  use.  Alfred  had  several  fights  with  them, 
sometimes  getting  the  better  and  sometimes  the  worse; 
but  at  length  his  followers  became  discouraged,  his  army 
melted  away,  and  he  wandered  about  alone  dressed  like 
a  peasant  and  wondering  what  he  should  do  next. 

It  is  to  this  time  of  his  life  that  the  famous  story  of  the 
cakes  belongs.  He  had  gone  into  the  hut  of  a  neatherd* 
to  rest  awhile,  perhaps  expecting  to  get  a  meal  and  a 
bed.  The  man's  wife  had  some  cakes  baking  over  the 
fire  and  asked  the  stranger  to  turn  them  while  she  was 
busy  elsewhere.  As  he  had  some  other  rather  important 
things  to  think  of,  he  let  the  cakes  burn,  for  which  she 
gave  him  a  good  scolding  when  she  came  back,  saying 
that  he  would  be  ready  enough  to  eat  them,  though  he 
would  not  take  the  trouble  to  watch  them. 

Another  story  told  of  his  wanderings  is  that  he  went  in 
the  disguise  of  a  harper  into  the  camp  of  Guthrum,  the 
Danish  chief,  and,  while  amusing  the  Danes  with  music 
and  good  stories,  gained  important  information  about 
their  camp.  At  length,  thinking  the  time  ripe  for  an 
attack,  he  got  together  as  many  men  as  he  could  at  what 

*  Pronounced  neat-herd. 


FROM  EGBERT  TO   THE  SIX  BOY-KINGS.        29 

was  called  "the  island"  of  Athelney;  the  island  being  a 
piece  of  firm  ground  mostly  surrounded  by  marshes, 
which  strangers  would  find  it  hard  to  cross.  From  this 
place  he  marched  forth  with  his  army  and  defeated  the 
Danes  in  a  hard-fought  battle.  He  made  a  treaty  with 
them  afterward,  in  which  it  was  agreed  that  Guthrum  and 
all  his  followers  should  become  Christians,  and  that  Al- 
fred should  give  them  a  large  tract  of  land  in  England,  or 
rather,  should  allow  them  to  keep  what  they  had  already 
taken  for  themselves. 

Alfred  now  showed  himself  as  good  a  ruler  as  he  was 
a  general.  He  seems  not  to  have  had  one  selfish  thought, 
but  to  have  lived  entirely  for  the  good  of  his  people. 
When  he  was  older  he  wrote,  "So  long  as  I  have  lived,  I 
have  tried  to  live  worthily."  And  he  did  live  worthily. 
His  first  care  was  to  repair  his  ruined  cities  and  forts,  to 
organize  companies  of  militia  in  places  most  likely  to  be 
attacked  by  the  Danes,  (for  though  Guthrum  was  put 
•down,  there  were  thousands  more  at  home  to  come),  and 
to  provide  a  fleet  or  navy.  As  the  people  in  England  were 
not  used  to  building  war-ships,  Alfred  sent  for  men  from 
other  countries  to  teach  them ;  and  when  the  ships  were 
built,  his  sailors  had  to  learn  how  to  manage  them.  And 
now,  one  thousand  years  after  Alfred's  time,  the  English 
is  the  ruling  flag  on  all  the  seas. 

Safety  being  provided  for,  Alfred's  next  thought  was  of 
improvement.  He  made  excellent  laws  and  had  them 
carried  out;  he  caused  justice  to  be  dealt  to  every  man, 
rich  or  poor,  and  he  rebuilt  the  ruined  churches  and  pro- 
vided for  their  being  kept  up.  He  had  schools  started 
where  young  people  could  learn  at  least  to  read  and 
write,  and  said  that  every  free-born  youth  who  was  able 


30  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

to  afford  it  should  "abide  at  his  book  till  he  could  well 
understand  English  writing."  This  is  somewhat  like 
what  is  now  called  "compulsory  education,"  except  that 
we  give  it  for  nothing  to  people  who  can  not  afford  to 
pay  for  it.  He  was  ashamed  of  the  ignorance  of  his- 
countrymen.  "When  I  began  to  reign,"  said  he,  "I  can 
not  remember  one  priest  who  could  understand  his  ser- 
vice-book or  explain  it  in  English."  All  books  used  in 
the  churches  and  most  others  were  written  in  Latin,  and 
Alfred  was  a  writer  of  good  Saxon  prose.  Some  of  his 
books  were  translations  of  useful  works  from  Latin  into- 
English,  and  some  were  original. 

A  very  interesting  old  book  called  the  "Anglo-Saxon 
Chronicle"  is  supposed  to  have  been  begun  in  his  time,, 
perhaps  by  Alfred  himself.  It  is  an  account  of  what  took 
place  in  England  during  several  hundred  years,  written 
by  the  monks  at  different  monasteries,  each  set  of  them 
copying  what  the  others  had  written  and  making  addi- 
tions of  their  own.  It  is  from  this  that  we  get  much  of 
our  knowledge  of  what  was  done  in  those  far-off  times. 

King  Alfred  would  not  have  been  able  to  accomplish 
as  much  as  he  did  if  he  had  not  been  one  of  the  most 
methodical  as  well  as  the  most  industrious  of  men.  He 
divided  his  time  into  three  parts ;  one-third  of  the  twenty- 
four  hours  he  gave  to  public  business,  one-third  to  study 
and  religious  duties,  and  the  remaining  third  to  sleep, 
eating  and  amusement.  He  had  no  clock,  and  as  he 
wanted  to  know  just  how  much  time  he  spent  at  each 
occupation,  he  ordered  candles  to  be  made  with  notches 
so  arranged  that  it  took  just  an  hour  to  burn  from  one 
notch  to  another.  Then,  because  the  houses,  (even  the 
king's  palace)  were  so  poorly  built  that  draughts  of  wind 


FROM  EGBERT  TO   THE  SIX  BOY-KINGS.        31 

made  the  candles  flare,  he  invented  lanterns  in  which 
thinly-shaved  horn  took  the  place  of  glass,  a  material 
still  unknown  in  England. 

Alfred  had  one  more  hard  struggle  with  the  Danes,, 
about  ten  years  after  the  defeat  of  Guthrum.  A  terrible 
pirate  named  Hastings  ravaged  the  coasts,  but  he  was- 
driven  away  and  then  there  was  peace  until  the  sorrowful 
hour  of  Alfred's  death  (901).  He  was  worn  out,  doubt- 
less with  hard  work,  for  he  was  only  fifty-two,  and  ought 
to  have  lived  still  many  useful  years.  But  he  had  never 
spared  himself,  and  probably  thought  that  it  was  "better 
to  wear  out  than  rust  out." 

Alfred  the  Great  left  one  son,  Edward,  afterward  called 
"The  Elder."  The  Danes  took  advantage  of  Alfred's- 
death  to  invade  England,  and  Edward  drove  them  back 
just  as  Alfred  had  done.  Then  came  his  son  Athelstan, 
another  warlike  king,  who  kept  up  the  credit  of  the 
family  and  ruled  England  wisely  and  well.  He  hit  upon 
a  new  idea  for  helping  along  commerce  and  increasing 
among  his  people  the  desire  to  visit  distant  countries. 
He  declared  that  any  merchant  who  had  made  three  long 
sea-voyages  on  his  own  account,  (that  is,  not  being  hired 
by  anyone  else),  should  be  raised  to  the  rank  of  Thane, 
or  gentleman. 

Athelstan  had  been  a  great  favorite  with  his  grandfather, 
Alfred,  who  gave  him  a  little  sword  with  a  golden  scab- 
bard, and  a  warrior's  belt  set  with  precious  stones.  He 
was  never  married,  and  at  his  death  his  brother  Edmund, 
a  boy  of  eighteen,  was  made  king.  He  was  the  first  of  a, 
series  called  "The  Six  Boy-Kings." 

In  many  ways,  the  Saxons  laws  and  customs  were  dif- 
ferent from  those  of  other  nations.  First,  there  was  their 


32  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

Witanagemot,  or  Meeting  of  Wise  Men,  selected  entirely 
from  the  higher  classes.  The  king  was  expected  to  con- 
sult this  assembly,  and  its  consent  was  necessary  to  all 
laws.  In  those  days  no  one  had  ever  thought  of  repre- 
sentative government,  so  this  senate  consisted  of  such 
persons  as  the  king  chose  to  summon. 

Some  strange  notions  of  justice  existed.  When  a  man 
was  accused  of  a  crime,  the  case  was  put  into  the  hands 
of  twelve  men  who  heard  what  was  to  be  said  on  both 
sides,  and  then  decided  on  his  guilt  or  innocence.  This 
was  all  very  well,  but  if  there  seemed  to  be  any  doubt 
about  it,  there  were  two  ways  in  which  one  might 
clear  himself.  He  might  take  a  solemn  oath  that  he  was 
not  guilty,  if  he  could  get  other  men,  called  compurga- 
tors,  to  swear  to  the  same  thing  with  him;  or  he  might 
try  what  was  called  the  ordeal.  This  obliged  him  to 
thrust  his  arm  up  to  the  elbow  in  boiling  water,  hold  a 
piece  of  red-hot  iron  in  his  hand,  or  walk  about  blind- 
folded among  burning  ploughshares.  If  at  the  end  of 
three  days  there  was  no  sign  of  burning  on  his  hands  or 
feet,  it  was  taken  for  granted  that  he  was  innocent. 

The  old  English  houses  were  what  we  should  call  very 
uncomfortable.  There  were  no  chimneys,  a  hole  being 
made  in  the  roof  to  let  out  the  smoke;  and  we  may  be 
sure  that  a  great  deal  of  it  stayed  in.  Our  ancestors  must 
have  had  strong  eyes  not  to  grow  blind  under  such  cir- 
cumstances. There  was  no  glass  except  in  the  windows 
of  the  very  rich;  some  others  used  to  tack  up  white  linen 
to  keep  out  the  cold  wind  and  the  rain,  but  many  did 
without  any  screen  whatever.  All  the  furniture  was 
plain ;  no  chairs  except  in  palaces ;  only  stools  or  settees 
without  backs.  At  the  same  time,  everything  belonging 


FROM  EGBERT  TO   THE  SIX  BOY- KINGS.       33 

to  eating  and  drinking  was  as  fine  as  they  could  get  it. 
They  had  cups  and  dishes  of  silver  and  gold,  (when  they 
could  afford  it),  and  instead  of  glass  goblets  used  curi- 
ously carved  horns  of  cattle.  The  Saxons  were  great 
eaters  and  drinkers;  they  had  few  other  pleasures  except 
hunting  and  fighting;  and  it  must  have  been  a  disgusting 
thing  for  a  person  of  refinement  to  be  present  at  one  of 
their  drunken  revels. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

FROM  THE  SIX  BOY -KINGS  TO  THE  NORMAN  CONQUEST. 

|T  will  be  convenient  to  remember  the  boy-kings 
as  three  pairs  of  brothers :  Edmund  and  Edred, 
brothers  of  Athelstan,  and  therefore  sons  of 
Edward  the  Elder;  Edwy  and  Edgar,  sons  of  Edmund; 
Edward  the  Martyr  and  Ethelred  II.,  called  the  Unready, 
sons  of  Edgar.  As  some  of  these  lived  to  be  middle- 
aged  men,  the  name  "boy-king"  applies  only  to  the  age 
at  which  they  began  to  reign. 

Edmund,  the  first  of  these,  was  called  "The  Magnifi- 
cent," because  he  built  fine  houses.  He  had  to  fight  the 
Danes,  whether  he  liked  it  or  not;  and  when  he  found 
that  some  remains  of  the  old  Britons,  who  lived  in  the 
mountainous  country  of  Cumbria  (now  Cumberland), 
were  secretly  helping  the  Danes,  he  went  against  them 
with  an  army,  conquered  them,  and  made  a  present  of 
them  and  their  country  to  the  king  of  Scotland,  the  for- 
mer Caledonia.  Edmund's  early  death  at  the  age  of 
twenty  four  was  owing  to  his  own  quick  temper  and  lack 
3 


34  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

of  self-control.  A  robber  named  Leolf,  who  had  been 
banished  from  the  country,  had  the  impudence  to  come 
in  and  seat  himself  at  the  king's  table  at  dinner.  Ordi- 
narily there  would  have  been  nothing  out  of  the  way  about 
this,  for  it  was  then  the  custom  for  anyone  who  wanted  a 
meal  to  take  a  seat  at  any  table.  But  Leolf,  being  a  well- 
known  criminal,  was  ordered  away  by  the  king's  guards. 
He  refused  to  go ;  and  Edmund,  being  excited  with  wine, 
sprang  from  his  seat  and  seized  him  by  the  hair.  The 
ruffian  drew  a  dagger  and  stabbed  him  to  the  heart. 

Edmund's  chief  adviser  had  been  a  monk  named 
Dunstan,  who  was  a  man  of  such  great  ability  that  it 
seemed  natural  for  him  to  be  at  the  head  of  affairs.  This 
monk  the  king  made  Abbot  of  Glastonbury,  and  he  soon 
gained  with  the  common  people  a  great  reputation  for 
holiness,  and  proved  the  most  useful  of  ministers.*  When 
Edmund  was  killed  by  the  robber  Leolf  and  his  young 
brother  Edred  became  king  in  his  place,  Dunstan  took 
nearly  the  whole  management  of  the  kingdom  into  his 
own  hands,  and  was  as  successful  in  putting  down  the 
Danes  as  if  he  had  been  a  soldier  instead  of  a  priest. 

There  are  some  very  curious  stories  told  about  St 
Dunstan,  as  he  was  afterward  called.  He  was  of  an  ex- 
citable nature,  and  at  one  time  in  his  life  was  a  little 
crazy,  owing  to  some  previous  ill-treatment.  When  he 
became  a  monk,  being  extremely  active  physically,  he 
used  to  work  at  a  forge  in  a  little  blacksmith-shop  he 
made  for  himself.  Here  (he  said)  as  he  was  working  one 
day,  the  devil  suddenly  appeared  to  him  and  tried  to 
tempt  him  to  do  wrong.  He  happened  at  the  moment 

*A  minister,  in  England,  means  a  person  who  helps  and  advises 
the  king. 


BOY- KINGS  TO   THE  NORMAN  CONQUEST.      35 

to  have  a  pair  of  red-hot  tongs  in  his  hand,  and  with  these 
he  seized  the  devil  by  the  nose  and  pinched  him  so  hard 
that  he  roared  horribly  and  broke  away  from  him.  This 
anecdote,  devoutly  believed  at  the  time,  shows  the  state 
of  public  intelligence  in  the  tenth  century. 

Edred  did  not  live  long,  and  as  he  left  no  children, 
his  nephew  Edwy,  a  boy  of  sixteen,  became  king  at  his 
death.  Edwy  had  married  a  beautiful  girl  who  was  re- 
lated to  him,  and  as  the  church  which  Dunstan  repre- 
sented did  not  allow  such  marriages,  it  made  ill-feeling 
between  him  and  the  king.  After  the  coronation  the 
nobles  sat  down  to  a  great  feast,  where  they  wanted  to 
eat  till  they  were  stupid  and  drink  till  they  were  drunk, 
as  was  the  custom  of  the  Saxons.  Edwy  preferred  to 
spend  the  evening  with  his  wife  and  her  mother,  so  he 
quietly  left  the  table  and  joined  the  ladies  in  their  apart- 
ment. This  made  Dunstan  very  angry,  and  he  followed 
the  king  and  dragged  him  back  by  force,  abusing  him 
roundly  at  the  same  time.  Edwy  naturally  wished  to  get 
rid  of  such  a  minister,  so  he  asked  Dunstan  what  he  had 
done  with  all  the  money  he  had  used  in  King  Edred's 
reign.  Dunstan  could  not  tell,  for  he  had  never  kept  any 
accounts;  and  Edwy  made  this  an  excuse  for  driving  him 
out  of  the  country.  Dunstan,  however,  had  plenty  of 
friends  among  the  clergy,  and  they  took  the  beautiful 
Elgiva,  Edwy's  queen,  branded  her  in  the  cheek  with  a 
red-hot  iron  and  sold  her  for  a  slave.  She  was  taken  to 
Ireland,  where  the  people  took  pity  on  her,  cured  her 
wounds  and  sent  her  back  to  her  husband;  but  on  her 
way  Dunstan's  friends,  led  on  by  Archbishop  Odo,  seized 
her  and  cut  her  with  swords  so  cruelly  that  she  died. 
When  Edwy  knew  this  he  too  died,  of  a  broken  heart, 


36  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

and  his  brother  Edgar,  a  boy  of  fifteen,  succeeded  him. 

It  is  pleasant,  at  last,  to  be  able  to  make  a  break  in 
this  long  story  of  cruelty  and  misery,  and  to  say  that 
Edgar's  reign  of  seventeen  years  was  a  prosperous  and 
peaceful  one.  With  Dunstan's  assistance  he  triumphed 
over  all  his  enemies,  and  when  he  grew  old  enough  to 
govern  for  himself,  he  ruled  with  so  much  firmness  and 
good  sense  that  it  was  said  that  gold  bracelets  might  be 
hung  up  on  every  tree  in  the  woods,  and  no  one  would 
dare  to  touch  them. 

He  made  friends  of  the  Welsh  (who  were  the  descend- 
ants of  the  old  Britons  and  paid  tribute  to  England),  by 
a  very  simple  device.  Both  England  and  Wales  were 
overrun  with  wolves,  which  were  so  ravenous  that  they 
would  kill  and  carry  off  not  only  farm  animals  but  little 
children,  and  sometimes  even  attack  men.  The  Welsh 
were  very  poor  and  found  it  hard  to  raise  money  enough 
to  pay  their  yearly  tribute.  Edgar  allowed  them  to  bring 
him  every  year  three  hundred  wolves'  heads  instead  of 
money,  so  that  the  country  was  soon  cleared  of  these 
destructive  animals. 

Of  a  reign  so  prosperous  there  is  little  to  tell.  It  is 
said  that  Edgar  was  once  rowed  in  a  boat  on  the  River 
Dee  (near  Chester)  by  eight  tributary  kings,  while  he  did 
the  steering.  This,  if  it  ever  happened,  was  probably 
done  for  a  joke.  Edgar's  private  character  was  not  good. 
He  carried  off  his  first  wife  from  a  convent,  and  obtained 
the  second,  the  beautiful  Elfrida,  by  the  murder  of  her 
husband.  A  few  years  after  this  second  marriage,  Edgar 
the  Peaceable  (so  called  because  he  was  so  ready  for 
war  that  no  one  dared  to  attack  him),  died,  leaving  his 
kingdom  to  his  oldest  son,  Edward,  aged  sixteen,  the 


BOY- KINGS  TO   THE  NORMAN  CONQUEST.      37 

child  of  the  nun  whom  Edgar  had  run  away  with.  El- 
frida,  however,  determined  that  her  own  son,  Ethelred, 
should  be  king.  On  one  occasion,  Edward  stopped  at 
her  castle  to  pay  her  a  visit  of  politeness.  As  he  was 
going  away  she  handed  him  a  cup  of  wine,  as  was  the 
custom  when  a  guest  was  leaving  a  house.*  While  he 
was  drinking  this,  one  of  her  servants  stabbed  him  in  the 
back.  The  poor  boy  put  spurs  to  his  horse  and  rode 
away;  but  he  soon  became  faint  from  loss  of  blood,  fell 
from  his  horse  and  was  dragged  along  by  the  stirrup  until 
he  died.  The  murdered  king  has  always  had  the  sur- 
name of  "The  Martyr,"  not  because  religion  had  any- 
thing to  do  with  the  crime,  but  because  he  was  killed 
unjustly. 

Poor  little  Ethelred,  the  son  of  Edgar  and  Elfrida, 
might  have  been  called  "The  Unlucky."  He  was  only 
seven  years  old  at  the  time  of  his  half-brother's  murder, 
and,  it  is  said,  wept  bitterly  at  seeing  the  cowardly  deed, 
whereupon  his  mother  beat  him  so  hard  with  a  thick  wax 
candle  that  he  never  after  could  endure  the  sight  of  a 
candle.  When  he  grew  older  he  was  called  "The  Un- 
ready," which  means  without  rede  or  counsel,  and  not,  as 
many  people  think,  that  he  was  never  ready  for  the 
Danes.  Dunstan  died  soon  after  this  child  was  made 
king;  and  from  that  time  to  the  end  of  his  life  the  Danes 
kept  pouring  in,  plundering,  killing  and  wasting  wherever 
they  went,  while  Ethelred  knew  no  better  plan  for  getting 
rid  of  them  than  that  of  giving  them  money  to  go.  Of 
course  they  came  back  again  for  more,  the  bribe  being 
made  larger  each  time.  To  pay  this  heavy  tribute  a 

*Wine  offered  at  such  times  was  called  a  "stirrup-cup." 


38  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

regular  tax  was  laid,  called  Dane-geld,  or  Dane-money, 
which  pressed  cruelly  upon  the  people. 

The  country  in  France  called  Normandy,  which  had 
taken  its  name  from  the  Northmen  who  conquered  it, 
had  now  become  very  powerful,  and  Ethelred  thought  it 
would  be  a  good  thing  to  gain  its  friendship  by  marrying 
the  beautiful  Emma,  called  "The  Flower  of  Normandy," 
sister  to  the  reigning  duke.  Her  beauty  was  but  skin- 
deep,  however;  it  did  not  go  down  to  her  heart,  for  she 
showed  herself  hard,  grasping  and  selfish.  Soon  after  his 
marriage,  Ethelred  ordered  a  general  massacre  of  all  the 
Danes  in  his  kingdom,  many  of  whom  were  peaceable 
settlers.  Among  those  murdered  was  the  sister  of  the 
Danish  king  Sweyn.  She  was  married  to  an  English 
nobleman,  and  saw  him  and  her  children  butchered  be- 
fore her  eyes.  Sweyn  took  a  frightful  vengeance  on  the 
unhappy  country,  laying  it  waste  year  after  year,  until 
Ethelred  succeeded  in  buying  off  the  bloody  foe  once 
more  with  the  hard  earned  gold  of  his  people.  At  length 
the  unequal  contest  ended;  the  English  king  fled  to 
Normandy,  and  Sweyn  became  in  fact  king  of  England. 

There  were  four  of  these  Danish  kings;  Sweyn,  who 
lived  only  six  week  after  his  victory,  Canute  (pronounced 
Knut,  sounding  the  K),  and  Canute's  two  sons.  The  con- 
temptible Ethelred,  on  hearing  of  Sweyn's  death,  went 
back  to  England  with  promises  of  amendment;  but  he 
was  incurable.  His  brave  son  Edmund  got  together  an 
army  to  fight  Canute.  Just  at  this  time  the  weak  and 
wicked  Ethelred  died,  and  Canute  found  his  match  in 
Edmund,  whom  the  people  called  Ironside,  on  account 
of  his  strength  and  bravery.  Battle  after  battle  was 
fought,  and  rivers  of  English  and  Danish  blood  shed, 


BOY- KINGS  TO   THE  NORMAN  CONQUEST.      39 

until  at  last  the  chief  men  on  both  sides  begged  the  two 
kings  to  stop  fighting  and  come  to  some  agreement.  It 
was  finally  settled  that  Canute  should  take  the  northern 
part  of  the  country  and  Ironside  the  southern.  The 
latter  was  soon  murdered,  probably  by  Canute's  orders, 
and  the  Danish  king  ruled  over  all  England. 

The  reign  of  this  remarkable  man  began  by  his  putting 
to  death  in  the  most  cold-blooded  manner  all  the  Saxons 
who  stood  in  his  way;  but  after  he  had  had  his  fill  of 
-vengeance,  and  had  cut  off  everybody  whom  he  thought 
dangerous,  he  made  the  best  king  the  English  had  had 
since  the  time  of  Edgar  the  Peaceable.  Finding  that 
the  English  were  willing  to  submit  to  him,  he  sent  away 
most  of  his  Danish  soldiers,  and  tried  his  best  to  gain  the 
affections  of  the  people.  He  made  no  difference  between 
Dane  and  Englishman,  but  treated  all  alike,  under  just 
land  equal  laws.  The  two  sons  of  Edmund  Ironside  he 
sent  to  the  king  of  Sweden  with  a  request  that  they  might 
never  trouble  him  again;  but  the  Swedish  king,  being  of 
a  merciful  disposition,  sent  the  children  to  Hungary, 
•where  they  were  brought  up  under  the  care  of  his  sister. 

A  story  is  told  of  Canute,  which,  whether  true  or  not, 
shows  what  the  English  people  thought  of  his  good  sense. 
It  is  said  that  when  some  courtiers  had  been  telling  him 
he  was  lord  of  the  ocean,  he  ordered  his  throne  to  be 
carried  down  to  the  sea-shore  when  the  tide  was  coming 
up.  He  then  haughtily  commanded  the  waves  to  retire, 
but  seeing  that  they  came  on  as  usual,  he  turned  to  his 
abashed  followers  and  bade  them  remark  that  there  was 
something  at  their  feet  stronger  than  he. 

Canute  was  a  widower  when  he  came  to  England,  and 
while  there  married  Emma  of  Normandy,  widow  of  Ethel- 


40  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

red  the  Unready.  He  died  in  1035,  after  a  reign  of 
nearly  twenty  years.  He  was  a  convert  from  paganism, 
so  that  the  persecution  of  the  Christians  ceased  with  the 
beginning  of  his  reign.  He  made  laws  for  putting  down 
heathenism,  and  protected  the  interests  of  religion;  he 
even  tried  to  atone  for  his  early  crimes  by  building 
churches  and  monasteries.  The  English  were  satisfied 
with  him,  and  had  reason  to  be  sorry  for  his  death. 

His  son  Harold  (called  Harefoot  from  his  swiftness  in 
running)  succeeded  him,  though  Canute  had  agreed  with 
queen  Emma  that  Hardicanute,  her  son,  should  be  king 
at  his  death.  But  Hardicanute  was  away,  and  Harold, 
being  in  England,  had  himself  proclaimed  at  once.  He 
then  sent  for  Ethelred's  sons  Alfred  and  Edward,  and 
when  they  arrived  in  England  killed  all  their  attendants 
with  circumstances  of  the  greatest  cruelty,  and  put  out 
the  eyes  of  Alfred,  the  elder  of  the  two  princes,  who  soon 
died  from  his  wounds.  On  hearing  of  the  horrid  deed, 
Emma  fled  to  Normandy  with  her  remaining  son,  Edward, 
afterward  called  the  Confessor. 

Harold  did  not  live  many  years,  and  at  his  death  his 
half-brother  Hardicanute  lost  no  time  in  coming  back  to 
England.  He  caused  the  body  of  Harold  to  be  taken 
out  of  its  coffin  and  thrown  into  a  marsh;  he  oppressed 
and  misgoverned  the  people  of  England  in  every  possible 
way;  and  there  was  great  rejoicing  when,  in  a  year  or  two 
afterward,  he  died  as  he  had  lived,  a  miserable  drunkard. 
And  so  ended  the  Danish  rule  in  England. 

The  people  of  the  country  had  had  enough  of  Canute's 
family,  and  were  glad  to  welcome  back  Edward,  the 
youngest  son  of  Ethelred  the  Unready  and  Queen  Emma. 
This  king,  who  proved  to  be  the  last  of  the  royal  line  of 


BOY- KINGS   TO   THE  NORMAN  CONQUEST.      41 

Saxons,  passes  over  the  pages  of  history  like  a  shadow. 
His  surname  of  "The  Confessor"*  grew  out  of  the  fact 
that  he  was  more  like  a  priest  than  a  king.  The  real  ruler 
of  England  during  his  reign  was  the  Saxon  Earl  Godwin; 
a  man  of  immense  tact,  energy  and  force  of  will,  who 
managed  everything  in  the  king's  name  so  well  that  no- 
body missed  the  royal  figure-head.  Edward  was  consid- 
ered a  saint  even  during  his  lifetime,  and  the  singular 
practice  was  then  begun  of  bringing  children  afflicted 
with  scrofula  or  "King's  Evil"  to  the  monarch  to  be 
healed  by  his  touch.  The  strange  delusion  on  which  this 
"touching"  was  based  lasted  for  seven  hundred  years. 
Edward  married  Edith  Godwin,  daughter  of  the  great 
earl,  who  had,  besides,  half  a  dozen  strong,  fighting  sons 
to  help  him  keep  the  country  in  order.  A  pleasant  story 
might  be  told  of  the  gentle  Confessor's  life,  but  what  we 
want  to  know  is  the  history  of  the  people  of  England — not 
merely  biographies  of  their  kings.  So  we  must  let  Ed- 
ward fade  away  out  of  sight,  though  his  subjects  did  not 
soon  let  him  go  out  of  mind.  For  hundreds  of  years 
.after  his  death  the  English  looked  back  to  his  laws  (which 
were  re^.lly  Godwin's)  with  regret,  and  longed  for  the 
good  old  times  of  Edward  the  Confessor.  The  one  thing 
remaining  to  remind  us  of  him  is  Westminster  Abbey, 
which  he  began,  though  scarcely  any  of  the  present  struc- 
ture is  his  work.  Edward  died  in  1066,  and  Harold 
Godwin,  who  since  his  father's  death  some  years  before, 
had  been  prime  minister,  caused  himself  to  be  proclaimed 
king.  He  had  no  right  by  birth  to  this  title,  but  he  had 
everything  else  that  belongs  to  it;  good  sense  and  judg- 

*  A  confessor  is  a  priest  to  whom  persons  confess  their  sins. 


42  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

ment,  firmness,  a  clear  head  and  a  steady  hand,  and  best! 
of  all,  a  real  love  for  his  country.  The  birthright  king; 
would  have  been  Edgar  the  Atheling,  or  Prince,  a  grand- 
son of  Edmund  Ironside;  but  there  was  no  one  to  take^ 
his  part,  and  William,  Duke  of  Normandy,  a  relation  off 
Edward  the  Confessor,  was  watching  the  progress  of* 
affairs,  and  getting  ready  to  seize  the  coveted  throne. 


CHAPTER    V. 

THE   NORMAN   CONQUEST. 

|OME  years  before  the  death  of  Edward  the  Con- 
fessor, Harold  Godwin  had  visited  Normandy, 
and  while  there  had  been  induced  by  its  duke,t 
William,  to  take  a  solemn  oath  never  to  claim  the  crown 
of  England  for  himself.  It  is  said  that  when  Harold  had 
sworn  to  do  this,  the  duke  took  off  the  cloth  from  the 
table  on  which  the  Englishman  had  laid  his  hand  and 
showed  him  that  ii  was  a  chest  full  of  saints'  bones,  which) 
were  supposed  to  make  the  oath  peculiarly  binding. 
Harold  was  startled,  but  nevertheless  had  himself  pro- 
claimed king  as  soon  as  the  breath  was  out  of  Edward's 
body.  He  had  a  quarrel  with  his  brother  Tostig,  and  the 
latter  went  to  Norway  and  brought  the  king  of  that  coun- 
try back  to  England  with  him,  together  with  a  large 
army.  Harold,  unwilling  to  go  to  war  with  his  brother, 
sent  a  messenger  to  him  offering  forgiveness  and  large 
possessions  if  he  would  lay  down  his  arms.  "And  what 
will  you  give  my  ally,  the  king  of  Norway?"  inquired 


THE  NORMAN  CONQUEST.  43 

Tostig.  "Seven  feet  of  English  earth  for  a  grave,"  was 
the  reply;  "or  perhaps  a  little  more,  as  he  is  taller  than 
most  men."  "Go  back,"  replied  Tostig  to  the  herald, 
"and  tell  my  brother  to  get  ready  to  fight."  The  result 
was  the  battle  of  Stamford  Bridge,  in  which  Tostig  and 
the  Norwegian  king  were  defeated  and  killed,  and  Harold 
marched  in  triumph  to  London. 

Bad  news  met  him  on  the  way.  William  of  Normandy 
with  a  large  army  had  landed  in  England,  near  Hastings 
in  Sussex.  If  Harold  had  listened  to  the  advice  of  his 
friends,  he  would  have  put  off  meeting  William  until  his 
own  army  was  stronger,  for  he  had  lost  many  men  at 
Stamford  Bridge.  But  he  was  impatient  and  angry,  and 
•without  waiting  for  reinforcements,  set  out  for  Hastings. 

The  battle  that  followed  (October  i4th,  1066),  was  a 
•sharp  and  bloody  one,  and  was  decided,  after  a  long  day 
of  fighting,  in  favor  of  the  Normans.  Harold  was  shot 
in  the  eye  by  an  arrow,  and  after  the  moon  rose  that 
night,  it  looked  on  the  dead  bodies  of  the  king,  his  two 
brothers,  and  many  of  the  noblest  men  in  England.  It 
was  a  sad  sight;  and  when  Harold's  corpse  was  dragged 
out  the  next  day,  from  under  a  heap  of  the  slain,  the 
Conqueror,  as  we  must  now  call  William  of  Normandy, 
gave  permission  to  his  mother  to  take  it  away  and  bury  it. 

This  is  properly  called  the  battle  of  Senlac,  that  being 
the  name  of  the  place  where  it  was  fought,  about  nine 
miles  from  the  town  of  Hastings,  though  the  latter  has 
given  its  name  to  the  battle.  On  the  spot  where  Harold 
was  killed,  William  built  a  magnificent  church  called 
Battle  Abbey.  The  ruins  of  this  are  in  excellent  preser- 
vation, and  many  travelers  turn  aside  from  the  more 
beaten  tracks  to  visit  the  scene  of  the  battle  of  Hastings. 


44  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

England,  though  its  king  had  fallen,  was  not  yet  con- 
quered. In  fact,  William  did  not  wish  to  reign  as  a  con- 
queror, but  as  a  lawful  king.  His  ambition  was  to  be 
chosen  by  the  people  themselves.  The  death  of  Harold 
left  but  one  claimant  of  the  crown,  Edgar  the  Atheling, 
grandson  of  Edmund  Ironside,  and  this  young  man,  if  he 
had  been  like  his  grandfather  or  like  the  Conqueror, 
no  doubt  would  have  fought  for  his  rights — and  been 
conquered,  as  Harold  was.  A  few  of  the  English  leaders 
still  stood  up  for  him;  but  there  was  disunion  among 
them,  and  when  the  decision  took  place,  Edgar  himself 
was  among  those  who  offered  the  throne  to  the  Con- 
queror. On  Christmas  day,  1066,  William  I.  was  crowned 
in  Westminster  Abbey,  both  Normans  and  Saxons  taking 
part  in  the  ceremonies.  The  Archbishop  of  Canterbury 
made  an  address  to  the  English  in  their  own  language, 
asking  if  they  would  have  William  for  their  king.  They 
shouted  out,  "Yes!  Yes!"  A  Norman  archbishop  whom 
William  had  brought  over  with  him  asked  his  Normans 
the  same  question  in  French,  and  they  were  equally 
vehement.  The  soldiers  standing  outside,  hearing  the 
noise,  imagined  that  the  English  were  doing  some  vio- 
lence to  their  duke,  and  in  their  panic,  set  fire  to  the 
wooden  houses  near  the  Abbey,  which  burnt  like  tinder, 
and  came  near  destroying  the  whole  town.  Such  occur- 
rences did  not  help  to  increase  good  feeling  between  the 
English  and  Normans. 

William  I.  set  out  to  be  a  sort  of  second  Canute,  and 
no  doubt  really  meant  to  govern  well,  though  strictly. 
But  it  was  not  long  before  the  Saxons  perceived  that  the 
best  of  everything  was  slipping  out  of  their  hands  and 
falling  into  those  of  the  conquerors.  If  an  English  gen- 


THE  NORMAN  CONQUEST.  45 

tleman  had  fought  against  William  at  Hastings,  that  was 
a  reason  for  taking  away  all  his  property  and  giving  it  to 
some  Norman  favorite.  Strong  castles  were  built  near 
the  large  towns  (a  part  of  the  Tower  of  London  dates 
from  this  time),  and  these  were  garrisoned  by  Normans, 
so  that  the  English  might  be  kept  in  order.  The  Nor- 
man barons  who  were  set  over  the  conquered  people 
became  tyrannical,  and  abused  their  power  in  such  a  way 
that  the  English,  burning  with  indignation,  only  awaited 
a  good  opportunity  to  make  themselves  free  again. 

The  year  after  he  was  crowned,  William  I.  made  a  visit 
to  Normandy.  The  ill-feeling  existing  between  Saxon 
and  Norman  broke  out  more  fiercely  than  ever  when  the 
master's  hand  was  withdrawn,  and  many  Englishmen  of 
rank,  unable  longer  to  endure  the  insolence  of  their  for- 
eign lords,  broke  out  into  open  rebellion.  Plots  were 
almost  as  plenty  as  towns,  and  William  came  back  with- 
out delay.  For  some  time  he  contented  himself  with 
moderate  measures,  inflicting  punishment  only  in  pro- 
portion to  the  wrong  done;  but  losing  patience  at  last, 
he  took  a  cruel  revenge.  He  sent  a  body  of  soldiers 
under  a  trained  captain,  to  lay  waste  the  country  between 
the  rivers  Tees  and  Humber,  a  district  sixty  miles  wide, 
and  reaching  as  far  inland  as  York.  Over  this  whole 
extent  nothing  could  be  seen  but  burned  towns,  ruined 
fields,  and  desolate  farm-houses.  Most  of  the  inhab- 
itants fled  to  Scotland;  those  who  could  not  get  away 
were  killed  without  mercy.  It  is  said  that  a  hundred 
thousand  persons  perished  in  the  famine  that  followed 
the  destruction  of  crops,  animals  and  farm-implements, 
and  wild  beasts  made  their  lairs  in  what  had  once  been 
smiling  homes.  Fifty  years  afterward,  a  writer  who  trav- 


46  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

eled  there,  groans  over  the  dismal  sight,  and  says  it  is 
piteous  to  see  the  change. 

After  this  there  were  no  more  attempts  at  rebellion  on 
the  part  of  the  English,  and  no  pretence  of  mildness  and 
moderation  on  the  side  of  William.  The  old  inhabitants 
of  the  land  were  ruled  with  a  rod  of  iron ;  their  new  mas- 
ters grew  daily  more  grasping  and  more  arrogant.  William 
could  now  go  to  Normandy  and  stay  as  long  as  it  suited 
him,  without  fear  that  a  hand  would  be  raised  against  his 
authority.  All  offices  were  taken  away  from  the  unfor- 
tunate Saxons,  and  their  finest  estates  were  given  to  the 
king's  Norman  favorites,  who  built  castles  to  protect  their 
new  property,  while  the  original  owners  of  the  country 
sank  almost  to  the  condition  of  serfs.* 

In  Normandy,  William's  oldest  son,  Robert,  rebelled 
against  him,  and  in  a  battle  between  them  the  king  was 
unhorsed  and  might  have  been  killed  but  that  Robert 
recognized  his  father's  voice.  The  prince,  struck  with 
horror,  threw  himself  on  his  knees  and  begged  forgive- 
ness; but  William  was  too  angry  to  be  generous,  and 
turned  sullenly  away. 

Three  things  were  done  in  England  by  William's  orders 
which  enraged  the  Anglo  Saxons,  though  it  seems  to  us 
now  that  one  of  them  was  a  positive  benefit  to  the  coun- 
try, while  another  was  at  least  harmless.  The  first  was 
causing  a  book  to  be  prepared  which  contained  a  descrip- 
tion of  all  the  land  owned  by  private  persons  in  the  king- 
dom, with  an  account  of  its  products.  This  is  called  the 
Domesday  book.  It  still  exists,  and  has  been  translated 
into  modern  English.  As  there  was  no  way  of  recording 

*A  serf  is  a  kind  of  slave  who  may  be  sold  by  his  master  with  the 
land  he  lives  on,  but  can  not  be  removed  from  it. 


THE  NORMAN  CONQUEST.  47 

the  ownership  of  property  at  that  time,  this  was  of  real 
value;  but  the  Saxons  looked  at  it  only  as  a  means  for 
getting  more  taxes  out  of  them. 

The  second  regulation  which  offended  our  ancestors 
was  that  at  the  ringing  of  a  certain  bell  called  the  curfew,* 
at  about  nine  o'clock  in  the  evening,  all  lights  and  fires- 
were  to  be  put  out.  This  was  an  old  Norman  custom, 
used  as  a  protection  against  fire,  and  binding  on  Nor- 
mans and  Saxons  alike;  but  the  English  hated  it  because 
they  thought  it  a  sign  of  slavery.  The  population  of  Eng- 
land at  this  time  is  supposed  to  have  been  a  million. 

The  third  cause  of  offence  was  a  more  serious  one. 
William  was  extremely  fond  of  hunting,  and  not  finding 
any  forest  conveniently  near  to  his  own  dwelling,  he 
determined  to  make  one  for  himself.  He  caused  all  the 
inhabitants  in  a  tract  of  country  in  Hampshire,  in  the 
south  of  England,  for  the  space  of  thirty  miles,  to  be  driven 
away  from  their  homes  so  that  the  wild  beasts  might  in- 
crease there.  He  tore  down  houses  and  churches,  that 
the  animals  might  not  be  frightened  off,  and  paid  nothing 
for  what  he  thus  took  for  his  own  pleasure.  This  hunt- 
ing-ground was  called  the  "New  Forest,"  and  a  part  of  it 
is  still  an  appanage  of  the  crown  of  England.  A  writer 
of  the  time  says  of  him,  "He  loved  the  wild  deer  as  if  he 
were  their  father;"  better  than  he  loved  his  subjects,  for 
while  the  killing  of  a  deer  or  even  a  hare  was  punished 
by  putting  out  the  eyes  of  the  offender  >  the  killing  of  a  man 
could  be  atoned  for  by  paying  a  small  sum  of  money. 

William's  death  took  place  in  Normandy.  The  town 
of  Mantes,  in  that  country,  had  rebelled  against  him,  and 

*From  the  French  "cowre-feu,"  "cover-fire." 


48  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

he  had  ordered  it  to  be  burned  to  the  ground.  In  riding 
over  it  afterward  to  see  whether  his  commands  had  been 
obeyed,  his  horse  stepped  on  some  hot  embers  and 
plunged  so  violently  that  the  king  was  thrown  on  the 
pommel  of  his  saddle,  receiving  injuries  from  which  he 
died  soon  afterward.  He  was  taken  to  a  monastery  near 
Rouen,  and  his  two  younger  sons,  William  and  Henry, 
came  there  to  see  him.  Robert  he  did  not  wish  to  see, 
and  his  second  son,  Richard,  had  died  by  accident  in 
the  New  Forest.  As  soon  as  the  two  brothers  had  found 
out  what  their  father  meant  to  leave  them,  they  made 
haste  to  go  to  England  and  take  possession,  William  of 
the  crown,  and  Henry  of  five  thousand  pounds  that  had 
belonged  to  his  mother,  Matilda  of  Flanders;  and  the 
Conqueror  was  left  to  the  care  of  his  servants  and  the 
attendant  priests.  It  is  said  that  he  regretted  bitterly  all 
his  cruel  deeds  and  needless  bloodshed,  and  tried  by  gifts 
to  the  church  and  by  releasing  from  prison  some  persons 
who  had  offended  him,  to  pacify  his  conscience.  The 
instant  he  died  his  servants  took  everything  they  could 
lay  their  hands  on — even  the  ring  from  his  finger  and  the 
sheets  from  his  bed.  Sheets  were  valuable  things  in  those 
days,  and  the  thieves  were  in  such  a  hurry  that  the  Con- 
queror's body  rolled  to  the  floor  as  they  dragged  the  linen 
from  under  it.  Some  monks  found  it  and  laid  it  out 
decently;  but  it  was  not  yet  allowed  to  be  carried  to  the 
grave  in  peace.  William  had  built  at  Caen  in  Normandy 
two  magnificent  abbeys,  one  for  himself  and  one  for 
Queen  Matilda,  who  died  some  years  before  him.  When 
a  grave  had  been  prepared  for  him,  and  the  coffin  was 
about  to  be  let  down  into  it,  a  man  suddenly  appeared 
in  the  church  and  with  a  loud  voice  forbade  the  inter- 


THE  NORMAN  CONQUEST.  49 

merit.  "The  land  this  church  was  built  on,"  said  he, 
"never  belonged  to  the  man  you  are  going  to  bury  here! 
It  was  my  father's,  and  was  taken  from  him  by  force; 
now  it  is  mine,  and  I  refuse  my  permission  to  the  burial !" 
The  priests  were  struck  with  shame  at  this  rude  interrup- 
tion, and  pacified  the  man  by  paying  him  sixty  pence, 
after  which  he  left  them  in  peace. 

William  continued  in  England,  with  little  change,  the 
state  of  things  called  "The  Feudal  System."  The  main 
idea  of  this  was  that  all  land  really  belonged  to  the  king, 
although  those  who  occupied  it  were  allowed  to  call 
themselves  the  feudal  owners  of  it,  and  that  in  return  for 
this  privilege  each  land-holder  must  be  ready  to  go  with 
the  king  to  battle  whenever  he  was  called  upon.  In  other 
words,  the  land-holder  must  give  military  service  instead 
of  rent  or  purchase-money.  The  same  system  was  kept 
up  through  the  many  grades  of  rank,  down  to  the  poorest 
farmer  or  owner  of  a  little  garden-plot;  he  must  go  to 
war  whenever  he  was  called  upon,  so  there  was  a  great 
body  of  fighting  men  always  ready  for  action.  But  when 
there  was  trouble  in  the  country  itself,  those  masses  of 
soldiers  were  as  able  to  fight  against  the  king  as  on  his 
side;  so  that  it  was  not  always  to  his  advantage. 

After  the  first  rising  against  William  the  Conqueror  in 
England,  Edgar  Atheling,  the  grandson  of  Edmund  Iron- 
side, went  with  his  two  sisters  to  Scotland,  where  they 
were  kindly  received  by  its  king,  Malcolm,  son  of  the 
Duncan  who  was  murdered  by  Macbeth,  as  we  read  in 
Shakspeare's  tragedy.  Malcolm  married  the  lovely  Mar- 
garet, Edgar's  elder  sister,  while  the  younger  one,  Chris- 
tina, became  a  nun.  Edgar  returned  to  England  and 
died  at  a  good  old  age,  nearly  forgotten  by  everybody. 
4 


50  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

CHAPTER    VI. 

NORMAN    ENGLAND.       WILLIAM    II.       HENRY    I. 

|HE  feelings  of  the  English  toward  their  Norman- 
conquerors  may  be  best  judged  from  their  own 
writings.  It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  every 
tax  imposed  by  foreigners  must  have  been  odious  to- 
them,  and  that  the  king  could  not  know  all  the  details  of 
what  was  done  by  his  officers.  Here  is  one  account : 

"The  king  sold  out  his  lands  as  dear  as  dearest  he 
might,  and  he  cared  not  how  iniquitously  his  sheriffs  ex- 
torted money  from  the  miserable  people,  nor  how  many 
unlawful  things  they  did.  They  raised  oppressive  taxes, 
and  so  many  were  their  unjust  deeds  it  were  hard  to 
remember  them." 

The  English  opinion  of  the  Domesday  Book  may  be 
gathered  from  another  chronicle.  "He  caused  them  to- 
write  down  what  property  every  inhabitant  of  all  England 
possessed  in  land  or  in  cattle,  and  how  much  money  this 
was  worth.  So  very  narrowly  did  he  cause  the  survey  to 
be  made  that  there  was  not  a  single  hide  nor  a  rood  of 
land,  nor — it  is  shameful  to  relate  that  which  he  thought 
no  shame  to  do  —  was  there  an  ox,  or  a  cow,  or  a  pig 
passed  by  that  was  not  set  down  in  the  accounts,  and 
then  all  these  writings  were  brought  to  him." 

There  appears  to  have  been  no  effort  made  by  Robert, 
the  Conqueror's  oldest  son,  to  take  possession  of  the 
throne  of  England.  His  father  had  left  it  to  his  second 
son,  William,  commonly  called  Rums  on  account  of  his 
red  hair  and  beard,  and  Robert  became  Duke  of  Nor- 


NORMAN  ENGLAND.     WILLIAM  II.    HENRY  I.    51 

mandy.  Most  of  the  Normans  in  England  would  have 
preferred  the  rule  of  Robert,  who  was  open-handed,  (that 
is  to  say,  careless),  hot-headed  and  rash;  but  the  Con- 
queror had  not  willed  it  so,  knowing  how  unfit  he  was  to 
govern  a  mixed  people  like  the  English.  William  Rums 
easily  persuaded  the  Saxons  that  he  was  going  to  be  a 
very  lamb  in  governing,  so  they  made  no  objection  to 
him;  but  it  did  not  take  them  long  to  discover  that  he 
was  more  like  a  wolf.  He  made  the  taxes  of  the  people 
almost  intolerable,  and  cared  nothing  for  the  rights  of 
any  one.  His  character  is  summed  up  in  one  sentence 
by  the  historian :  "he  neither  feared  God  nor  regarded 
man."  His  temper  was  fierce  and  cruel;  his  character 
treacherous  and  grasping,  and  all  his  subjects,  Norman 
as  well  as  Saxon,  were  glad  when  death  took  him  off  after 
a  reign  of  thirteen  years.  We  read  of  him  in  the  chronicle: 

"Through  his  avarice,  he  was  ever  vexing  the  people 
with  armies  and  cruel  taxes;  for  in  his  days  all  justice 
sank  and  all  unrighteousness  arose.  In  fine,  however 
long  I  may  delay  mention  of  it,  all  that  was  abominable 
to  God  and  oppressive  to  man  was  common  on  this  island 
in  William's  time  and  therefore  he  was  hated  by  almost 
all  his  people." 

It  was  not  long  after  William  II.  was  made  king  that 
he  and  his  brothers  fell  out  with  one  another.  First  he 
invaded  Robert's  country  of  Normandy;  then  these  two 
made  friends  and  both  attacked  Prince  Henry,  their 
younger  brother,  who  had  taken  a  castle  belonging  to 
Robert  on  St.  Michael's  Mount  in  Normandy.  They 
besieged  him  there  until  he  was  so  hard  pressed  that  not 
only  his  army  but  he  himself  was  suffering  from  want  of 
food.  On  hearing  this,  Robert  sent  him  supplies  of  meat 


52  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

and  wine  from  his  own  table;  and  when  William  blamed 
him  for  this  he  answered,  "Shall  we  let  our  brother  die 
of  hunger?  Where  shall  we  get  another  when  he  is  gone?" 

Prince  Henry  was  soon  obliged  to  give  up,  and  wan- 
dered about  for  some  years,  very  poor  and  disconsolate. 
William  went  back  to  England  and  was  soon  more  hated 
than  ever.  One  of  his  ways  of  getting  money  unlawfully 
was  through  the  church.  At  the  death  of  any  person 
holding  an  ecclesiastical  office,  the  income  belonging  to 
the  place  went  by  law  to  the  king  as  long  as  it  was  vacant. 
On  the  death  of  Lanfranc,  a  learned  and  excellent  man 
whom  William  I.  had  made  Archbishop  of  Canterbury 
(in  place  of  the  Saxon  prelate  turned  out  for  the  purpose), 
William  II.  (Rufus)  refused  to  appoint  another,  and  so 
kept  the  English  church  without  a  head  for  five  years. 
Then  being  taken  ill  and  fearing  that  he  should  die,  he 
sent  in  great  haste  for  St.  Anselm,  (as  he  was  afterward 
called  on  account  of  his  holiness),  and  insisted  on  mak- 
ing him  archbishop  against  his  will.  When  the  king 
recovered  he  went  back  to  his  old  habits,  indulging  in 
every  kind  of  vice  and  setting  himself  against  everything 
that  was  good.  Anselm  bore  the  king's  misconduct  as 
long  as  he  could  and  then  left  the  country,  and  William 
had  from  that  time  no  check  on  his  wickedness.  The 
spirit  of  his  dealings  may  be  judged  from  his  answer 
when  the  archbishop  remonstrated  with  him  on  his  hab- 
itually breaking  his  word.  The  king  asked  in  a  rage: 
"Who  can  do  all  he  promises?" 

One  good  thing  remains  for  which  England  is  indebted 
to  William  II.  The  beautiful  Westminster  Hall  in  Lon- 
don, one  of  the  grandest  single  rooms  in  the  world,  was 
built  in  his  reign. 


NORMAN  ENGLAND.     WILLIAM  II.    HENRY  I.    53 

It  was  during  this  reign  that  the  first  crusade  was  un- 
dertaken.* Robert  of  Normandy  wished  to  go  on  this 
crusade  but  had  no  money,  and  as  William  could  always 
get  money  by  force  or  fraud,  he  agreed  to  furnish  Robert 
with  what  he  needed.  In  return  Robert  mortgaged  his 
duchy  of  Normandy  to  William;  that  is,  allowed  him  to 
take  possession  of  it,  with  the  understanding  that  after 
five  years  it  should  belong  to  William,  if  Robert  had  not 
paid  back  the  money.  The  king  took  possession  accord- 
ingly, but  before  the  five  years  were  up  he  was  dead,  and 
had  no  more  use  for  land  or  money. 

William  Rufus  was  extravagantly  fond  of  hunting,  like 
his  father,  and  went  out  one  morning  with  a  party  of  his 
friends  into  the  New  Forest,  to  have  a  day's  pleasure. 
During  the  day  he  became  separated  from  most  of  his 
party,  and  that  night  a  poor  charcoal-burner,  driving  his 
cart  slowly  through  the  forest,  found  the  body  of  the  Red 
King  with  an  arrow  in  the  heart.  Sir  Walter  Tyrrel,  the 
friend  who  was  last  seen  with  him,  ran  away  to  France 
without  waiting  to  tell  what  he  knew  about  it;  but  after- 
ward he  said  that  he  had  shot  an  arrow  at  a  deer,  and 
that  it  struck  a  tree  and  then  glanced  off  and  killed  the 
king.  Many  persons  disbelieved  this  story,  but  there 
was  no  proof  that  Sir  Walter  had  not  told  the  truth. 

Nobody  pretended  to  be  sorry  for  William's  death. 
His  life  had  been  so  mean,  base,  and  selfish  that  it  was  a 
relief  to  know  that  he  could  tyrannize  no  more.  He  was 
never  married,  and  the  next  king  would  naturally  be  one 
of  his  brothers. 

*  A  crusade  was  a  military  expedition,  the  object  of  which  was  to 
take  the  city  of  Jerusalem,  with  the  tomb  of  Christ,  from  the  Mo- 
hammedans. 


64  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

Robert,  the  older  of  these,  of  course  had  the  best 
right;  (that  is,  provided  the  English  people  wanted  him, 
for  they  still  went  through  the  form  of  electing  their  kings) 
but  Robert  was  on  his  way  from  the  Holy  Land,  and 
Henry,  the  younger  brother,  was  on  the  spot.  Robert 
came  back  in  a  few  weeks,  to  find  his  brother  acknowl- 
edged as  king  beyond  all  question.  He  was  angry  at 
this;  but  they  met  together  and  were  reconciled,  the  elder 
resigning  all  his  right  to  the  throne  of  England,  and  prom- 
ising to  be  content  with  his  own  duchy  of  Normandy. 

Henry  was  a  wise  and  far  sighted  man.  He  knew  that 
the  only  way  to  keep  his  people  in  good  humor  was  to 
govern  them  justly,  so  he  gave  them  a  charter,  that  is,  a 
written  paper  declaring  what  their  rights  were,  and  prom- 
ised to  rule  according  to  law.  He  showed  his  wisdom 
further  by  marrying  Matilda,  the  niece  of  Edgar  Atheling 
and  daughter  of  that  queen  who  was  so  good  that  she 
received  after  her  death  the  title  of  St.  Margaret  of  Scot- 
land. The  children  of  this  marriage  would  thus  be  half 
Saxon  and  half  Norman,  and  there  could  never  be  any 
more  quarreling  between  the  two  races. 

Henry  I.  was  the  first  of  the  Norman  kings  who  had 
much  more  education  than  enough  to  write  their  names. 
He  had  been  fairly  well  instructed  and  was  fond  of  study, 
so  he  went  by  the  name  of  "Beauclerc,"  or  "Fine-Scholar," 
by  which  he  is  called  to  this  day. 

Although  the  political  rights  of  the  English  were  in  a 
manner  assured  to  them  by  Henry  I.'s  charter,  they  were 
none  the  less  heavily  taxed.  The  Anglo-Saxon  Chronicle 
says  of  one  period,  "Full  heavy  a  year  was  this.  He 
who  had  any  property  was  bereaved  of  it  by  heavy  taxes 
and  assessments,  and  he  who  had  none  starved  witb 


NORMAN  ENGLAND.     WILLIAM  II.    HENRY  I.    55 

hunger."  The  taxes,  however,  were  no  longer  regarded 
as  being  imposed  by  the  victors  on  the  vanquished. 
Norman  and  Englishman  came  under  the  same  law,  and 
for  all  practical  purposes  the  two  nations  were  now  fused 
into  one.  Socially,  the  Normans  still  despised  the  Sax- 
ons, and  considered  Henry's  marriage  with  Matilda, 
(who,  out  of  respect  to  their  prejudices,  took  that  name 
on  her  marriage  in  place  of  her  own  Saxon  name  of 
Edith),  as  beneath  the  dignity  of  a  Norman  king. 

Henry  treated  his  brother  Robert  very  harshly.  He 
was  always  jealous  of,  him,  and  finding  that  the  Norman 
barons,  weary  of  Robert's  misrule,  were  inclined  to  a 
•change,  he  went  to  Normandy  with  a  large  army  and  fought 
the  battle  of  Tinchebrai,  where  Robert  was  defeated  and 
taken  prisoner.  Henry  carried  his  brother  to  England 
and  finally  shut  him  up  in  Cardiff  Castle  in  Wales,  where 
he  dragged  out  twenty-eight  miserable  years  before  death 
set  him  free.  A  story  that  Henry  had  his  brother's 
«yes  put  out  rests  upon  some  authority;  but  we  prefer  to 
think  it  a  fiction  of  the  chroniclers. 

It  is  toward  the  end  of  Henry's  reign  that  we  first  read 
of  Oxford  as  a  place  where  regular  instruction  was  given 
(1133).  In  early  times  it  was  called  "Oxenford"  (see 
Chaucer's  Prologue  to  the  Canterbury  Tales).  From  the 
twelfth  century  onward,  new  halls  for  study  were  founded, 
and  learned  men  were  attracted  to  the  town  as  to  a  liter- 
ary centre.  The  tradition  which  connects  the  present 
university  with  King  Alfred,  rests  only  upon  the  fact  that 
he  founded  schools  somewhere,  and  that  as  early  as  the 
reign  of  Edward  the  Elder,  (901-925),  Oxford  had  be- 
come a  place  of  importance. 


56  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

CHAPTER    VII. 

THE   WHITE   SHIP.       DEATH  OF  HENRY  I.       STEPHEN. 

|ENRY  I.  now  had  apparently  all  that  this  world 
could  give  him.  His  power  was  unquestioned, 
his  country  was  rigorously  kept  quiet,  and  his 
domestic  affairs  were  prosperous.  The  great  misfortune 
of  his  life  came  upon  him  like  a  clap  of  thunder  from  a 
clear  sky. 

He  had  been  in  France  with  his  only  son,  William, 
celebrating  the  prince's  marriage  to  a  daughter  of  the 
Count  of  Anjou.  A  splendid  wedding  party  was  in  at- 
tendance, and  all  were  in  the  highest  spirits.  It  was 
found  convenient,  in  going  back  from  Normandy  to  Eng- 
land, for  the  royal  party  to  sail  in  different  vessels,  as  the 
ships  of  that  time  were  small  and  ill-fitted  to  carry 
many  people  at  once.  The  king  sailed  first,  leaving  the 
prince  to  follow  in  a  beautiful  new  ship  called  the 
"Blanche  Nef,"  or  White  Ship,  offered  by  the  owner  for 
that  purpose.  "I  had  the  honor  of  carrying  over  your 
father  when  he  went  to  the  conquest  of  England,"  said 
this  man;  "I  pray  you  to  use  my  new  ship  for  your  jour- 
ney." The  king  answered  that  his  own  arrangements 
were  made,  but  that  his  son  would  accept  the  offer  with 
pleasure.  The  ship  was  crowded  as  full  as  it  could  hold. 
There  were  fifty  "sailors  of  renown,"  as  the  captain  called 
them,  and  a  hundred  and  forty  of  the  prince's  company, 
including  many  high-born  ladies,  who  had  gone  from 
England  to  the  wedding.  "Give  the  men  three  casks  of 
wine,"  cried  the  prince,  who  had  been  drinking  a  great 


DEATH  OF  HENRY  L       STEPHEN.  57 

deal  of  wine  himself;  "let  us  all  be  merry  together."  Off 
they  went;  the  sailors  got  drunk,  and  the  ship  had 
scarcely  left  the  harbor  when  she  struck  on  a  rock  with 
such  force  that  it  was  seen  instantly  that  she  must  sink. 
The  captain  hurried  the  prince  with  a  few  companions 
into  a  boat,  ordering  the  men  to  row  for  their  lives  to 
the  shore,  which  they  could  easily  have  reached.  But 
among  the  ladies  left  on  board  to  drown  was  the  Countess 
Marie,  a  sister  of  Prince  William;  and  he,  hearing  her 
piteous  cries  for  help,  insisted  on  going  back  to  the  ship 
to  save  her.  Upon  this,  so  many  persons  crowded  into 
the  boat  that  it  sank,  and  the  ship  went  down  at  the  same 
moment.  Of  all  that  great  company,  but  one  escaped 
death;  a  poor  butcher  of  Rouen  who  told  the  story.  He 
was  saved  by  clinging  to  a  mast,  and  said  that  the  cap- 
tain might  also  have  reached  the  shore  but  that  on  hear- 
ing of  the  prince's  death  he  let  go,  and  crying  out,  "Woe 
is  me!"  sank  to  the  bottom  like  a  stone. 

For  several  days  no  one  dared  to  carry  the  tidings  to 
the  king.  At  last  a  young  boy  was  sent  into  his  presence, 
and,  falling  at  his  feet  in  tears  and  trembling,  told  his 
story.  The  king  fell  down  in  a  fainting-fit,  and  was  never 
again  seen  to  smile. 

The  little  bride,  who  was  only  twelve  years  old,  had 
come  to  England  with  her  father-in-law,  and  was  there- 
fore safe.  The  Count  of  Anjou  sent  for  his  daughter  and 
her  dowry;  the  young  girl  was  sent  back,  and  afterward 
became  a  nun,  but  Henry  took  care  to  keep  the  dowry. 

Henry  now  began  to  be  anxious  about  an  heir  to  the 
crown.  He  had  several  nephews,  but  was  not  very  fond 
of  them;  and  his  oldest  daughter,  Matilda,  married  to 
the  emperor  Henry  V.  of  Germany,  had  no  children. 


53  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

The  emperor  lived  but  a  short  time  after  the  marriage, 
and  Matilda  was,  with  much  difficulty,  persuaded  to  marry 
Geoffrey  Plantagenet,  Count  of  Anjou.  Two  years  be- 
fore the  death  of  Henry  I.  they  had  a  son,  named  Henry 
after  his  grandfather,  and  called  by  the  English  Henry 
Fitz-Empress,  as  Matilda  always  kept  the  higher  title  of 
empress,  even  after  marrying  a  count.  The  birth  of  this 
child  delighted  the  old  king,  who  felt  that  he  in  a  manner 
took  the  place  of  the  lost  Prince  William,  and  he  caused 
his  barons  to  swear  fidelity  to  his  daughter  Maud,  (a  name 
for  Matilda),  hoping  that  she  would  be  queen  after  his 
death.  He  might  have  lived  longer  but  that  he  persisted 
in  eating  too  largely  of  a  dish  of  stewed  lampreys,  a  kind 
of  rich  fish  against  which  his  physicians  had  warned  him. 
He  was  not  well  at  the  time,  and  died  from  the  effects  of 
his  imprudent  meal. 

Henry  I.  had  great  faults;  he  was  self-willed,  avari- 
cious, deceitful,  and,  when  it  suited  his  purpose  to  be  so. 
cruel,  as  was  shown  by  his  treatment  of  his  brother 
Robert.  He  kept  up  the  forest  laws  (game  laws  we 
should  now  call  them)  in  their  utmost  severity,  and  was 
altogether  a  hard  master.  Yet,  as  he  had  undoubtedly 
great  abilities,  and  was,  according  to  the  standard  of  the 
time,  a  just  ruler,  (for  he  allowed  no  crime  to  go  un- 
punished in  others),  the  English  long  clung  to  his  memory 
with  a  certain  fondness. 

There  were  some  things  in  Henry's  time  which  showed 
that  a  gradual  change  was  taking  place  in  England.  For 
instance,  men  were  no  longer  obliged  to  undergo  the 
"ordeal  of  battle,"  if  they  did  not  choose  to  do  so.  This 
was  a  Norman  custom  which  was  meant  to  take  the  place 
of  the  Saxon  hot-iron  trial.  When  two  men  had  a  quarrel 


DEATH  OF  HENRY  I.      STEPHEN.  59 

-either  could  insist  on  fighting  it  out  with  certain  forms 
and  ceremonies,  and  the  victor  was  supposed  to  have 
right  on  his  side. 

We  notice  also  the  growing  power  of  the  Church  in 
controlling  men's  actions.  When  Henry  was  about  to 
fight  his  last  battle  with  his  brother  Robert,  in  Normandy, 
a  bishop,  making  an  address  to  him  in  the  presence  of 
his  soldiers,  exhorted  him  not  to  follow  the  example  of 
Robert,  who  was  "abandoned  to  sloth  and  folly,"  but  to 
testify  against  the  abominations  of  the  times,  especially 
long  hair  and  peaked-toed  shoes.  These  latter  were  then 
made  so  absurdly  long  that  the  points  were  drawn  up 
and  fastened  at  the  knee.  As  Henry  professed  his  will- 
ingness to  help  along  in  the  good  work  of  reform,  the 
zealous  bishop  seized  a  pair  of  shears  and  cut  off  the 
king's  flowing  locks.  Then  the  greatest  dandy  of  the 
court  asked  that  his  head  might  be  operated  upon;  and 
.after  that  the  scissors  were  kept  busy  until  all  the  fine 
gentlemen  became  a  set  of  Roundheads.  The  efficacy 
-of  this  sacrifice  is  proved  by  the  fact  that  Henry  won 
the  battle. 

Henry  I.  died  in  Normandy,  and  no  sooner  did  the 
news  of  his  death  reach  England  than  robbery  and  law- 
lessness ran  riot  through  the  country,  and  trade  was 
brought  to  a  stand-still.  The  Empress  Maud,  Henry's 
daughter,  was  away  taking  care  of  her  husband,  who  was 
ill;  so  that  the  way  was  open  for  a  usurpation.  Just  then 
Stephen,  Earl  of  Blois,  son  of  the  Conqueror's  daughter 
Adela  and  nephew  to  the  late  king,  suddenly  appeared 
in  London  with  an  army,  and  by  promises  and  a  liberal 
scattering  about  of  Henry's  money,  of  which  he  managed 
to  get  possession,  induced  the  "Witan"  to  choose  him 


60  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

king.  Stephen  was  going  to  do  great  things.  He  would 
abolish  the  odious  "Danegelt,"  which  was  still  kept  up; 
he  would  give  up  the  new  forests  made  by  Henry  I.  and 
he  would  secure  justice  to  every  citizen.  None  of  his 
promises  were  kept,  but  this  was  not  altogether  his  fault. 
He  was  an  amiable,  well-meaning  man,  with  pleasant 
manners  and  a  ready  smile,  and  would  have  been  quite 
willing  that  every  man  in  his  dominions  should  have 
peace,  prosperity  and  justice,  if  he  could  have  bestowed 
these  blessings;  but  he  lacked  torce  ot  character.  Other 
men,  stronger  and  fiercer  than  he,  took  things  into  their 
own  hands,  and  poor  England  had  not,  since  the  time  of 
the  Danish  invasions,  had  so  bitter  a  period  as  his  reign 
proved  to  be.  To  conciliate  the  favor  of  the  Norman 
barons  he  allowed  them  to  fortify  their  castles,  which  soon 
became  mere  dens  of  robbers;  for  it  was  not  the  habit 
of  these  "noblemen"  to  provide  for  themselves  except 
by  stealing  from  their  neighbors.  Here  is  a  passage  from 
the  "Anglo-Saxon  Chronicle,"  giving  a  Saxon  account  of 
what  was  endured  in  his  reign  by  those  suspected  of 
owning  anything  that  could  be  taken  away  from  them: 
When  the  traitors  perceived  that  King  Stephen  was  a  mild  man, 

and  a  soft  and  a  good they  no  faith  kept;  every  rich  man  kept  his- 

castles  and  defended  them.  They  greatly  oppressed  the  wretched 
people  by  making  them  work  at  these  castles,  and  when  the  castles 
were  finished  they  filled  them  with  devils.  They  took  those  whom 
they  suspected  to  have  any  goods  and  put  them  in  prison,  and  tor- 
tured them  with  pains  unspeakable.  They  hung  some  up  by  their 
feet  and  tortured  them  with  foul  smoke ;  some  by  the  thumbs  or  by 
the  head,  and  they  hung  burning  things  on  their  feet.  They  put  a 
knotted  string  about  their  heads,  and  twisted  it  till  it  went  into  the 
brain.  Some  they  put  into  a  crucet-house,  that  is,  into  a  chest  that 
was  short  and  narrow,  and  not  deep,  and  they  put  sharp  stones  in 
it,  and  crushed  the  man  therein  so  that  they  broke  all  his  limbs. 


DEATH  OF  HENRY  I.      STEPHEN.  61 

Other  "hateful  and  grim  things"  are  described,  all 
having  for  their  object  the  same  thing,  namely,  forcing 
people,  by  che  infliction  of  bodily  pain,  to  tell  where  they 
had  hidden  anything  of  value. 

In  the  face  of  horrors  like  these  we  almost  forget  to  be 
shocked  at  the  commonplace  fighting  which  went  on, 
year  after  year,  between  Matilda's  army  and  her  cousin's. 
One  great  battle  was  fought  in  her  behalf  by  King  David 
of  Scotland,  who  was  her  mother's  brother.  It  was  called 
"The  Battle  of  the  Standard"  from  the  consecrated  ban- 
ners, taken  from  different  monasteries,  which  floated 
from  a  tall  pole  carried  in  the  midst  of  the  English  army 
instead  of  an  ordinary  flag.  David  was  defeated,  and 
came  near  being  made  prisoner.  On  the  other  hand, 
Stephen  was  captured  in  battle  and  loaded  with  chains; 
then  Matilda's  chief  supporter,  Robert  of  Gloucester,  fell 
into  the  hands  of  the  enemy  and  was  exchanged  by  them 
for  Stephen.  Twice  Matilda  herself  was  taken  prisoner. 
Once  the  king  generously  set  her  free  and  furnished  her 
with  an  escort  to  her  own  party;  the  next  time  she  was 
indebted  to  her  own  ingenuity  or  that  of  her  friends  for 
her  escape.  She  was  shut  up  by  the  besieging  army  in 
the  castle  of  Oxford;  and  seeing  no  hope  of  relief  she 
caused  herself  and  three  of  her  knights,  all  dressed  in 
white,  to  be  let  down  over  the  castle  wall.  It  was  in  the 
depth  of  winter  and  the  ground  was  covered  with  snow. 
The  river  Thames  was  frozen  over,  and  the  party  crept 
along  for  six  miles,  strange  to  relate,  without  being  dis- 
covered. They  were  almost  frozen  when  they  reached 
a  place  of  safety.  The  castle  and  city  surrendered  to 
the  king's  forces  the  next  day. 

And  so  the  wretched  business  went  on.    The  land  was 


62  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

left  untilled,  the  cattle  died  from  lack  of  food,  and  a  fam- 
ine followed  among  the  people.  All  over  the  land,  no 
sight  was  more  common  than  that  of  blazing  villages  and 
farm-houses;  no  sound  more  frequent  than  the  despair- 
ing wail  of  people  hunted  from  their  homes.  Young 
Prince  Henry,  Matilda's  son,  in  the  mean  time,  was  grow- 
ing up  to  be  a  man.  When  things  got  to  their  worst, 
and  the  people  could  bear  no  more,  an  agreement  was 
made  between  him  and  Stephen  that  the  latter  should 
remain  king  as  long  as  he  lived,  and  that  Henry  should 
then  peaceably  take  the  throne.  Stephen's  son,  Eustace, 
a  young  man  of  such  violent  passions  that  he  seemed 
almost  insane,  was  made  so  angry  by  the  treaty  that  it 
brought  on  a  brain  fever  of  which  he  died,  to  the  great 
relief  of  the  English,  who  had  foreseen  in  his  father's 
death  only  an  endless  vista  of  civil  war.  Stephen  did 
not  live  long  after  this,  but  died  in  1 154  after  a  disastrous 
reign  of  nineteen  years. 

The  part  of  his  conduct  that  it  is  least  possible  to  de- 
fend was  the  fact  that  he  had  sworn  to  uphold  the  right 
of  his  cousin  Matilda;  and  perjury  was  as  much  a  sin  in 
the  twelfth  century  as  it  is  in  the  nineteenth.  His  reign 
was  a  period  of  unspeakable  misery  to  the  English ;  but 
it  is  doubtful,  under  the  circumstances,  if  there  could 
have  been  anything  but  misfortune.  It  was  not  the  time 
for  the  rule  of  a  woman,  even  a  judicious  one;  and  the 
Empress  Maud  was  haughty  and  revengeful,  and  never 
seems  to  have  gained  the  love  of  the  people. 

Our  old  acquaintance,  the  Saxon  Chronicle,  comes 
to  an  abrupt  end  at  Stephen's  death.  It  had  said  its 
say;  and  there  were  others  to  take  up  the  history  of 
their  country.  The  monk  William  of  Malmesbury,  who- 


DEATH  OF  HENRY  I.      STEPHEN.  63 

lived  in  this  century,  gives  us  some  interesting  accounts 
of  things  as  he  saw  them,  and  Henry  of  Huntington, 
another  monkish  historian,  flourished  at  about  the  same 
time.  Geoffrey  of  Monmouth,  who  died  in  the  same  year 
with  King  Stephen,  professed  to  write  a  history  of  Britain, 
but  it  is  so  full  of  absurd  fables  that  we  can  not  tell  the 
false  from  the  true.  King  Arthur,  the  last  Briton  who 
stood  out  against  the  Saxons,  is  his  favorite  hero. 

And  now  we  have  done  with  the  Norman  kings;  men 
of  great  talents,  and,  with  the  exception  of  Stephen,  of 
strong  characters.  They  came  as  usurpers,  but  the  bene- 
fits they  conferred  upon  England  by  introducing  there  a 
higher  form  of  civilization  than  was  known  among  the 
Saxons,  can  hardly  be  overrated. 

We  have  had,  also,  the  last  invasion  of  England.  Rom- 
ans, Saxons,  Danes,  Normans,  in  turn  conquered  and 
occupied  the  land,  and  we  have  the  best  of  what  each 
nation  left.  Norman,  Dane  and  Saxon,  together  with  a 
little  addition  of  British  blood,  have  combined  to  form 
the  modern  Englishman,  and  we  are  English,  with  some 
admixture  from  every  civilized  nation  upon  earth. 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

THE    FIRST    PLANTAGENET. 


|N  the  days  when  men  went  to  battle  with  the 
visors  of  their  helmets  down,  so  that  no  one 
could  see  their  faces,  it  was  convenient  to  have 
some  special  mark  about  them  which  should  distinguish 


64  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

one  from  another.  Geoffrey  of,  Anjou,  who  married  the 
Empress  Maud,  daughter  of  Henry  I.  of  England,  chose 
to  wear  a  sprig  of  broom-plant  (planta  genista}  in  his  hat, 
so  he  was  known  as  Geoffrey  Plantagenet.  His  son, 
Henry  II.  of  England,  kept  the  name,  and  for  more  than 
three  hundred  years  Plantagenet  kings  sat  on  the  throne 
of  England. 

There  was  no  need  of  an  election  by  the  Witan  (which 
we  must  now  call  the  Parliament)  to  enthrone  Henry 
Plantagenet.  He  was  welcomed  by  every  one.  Being 
half  Saxon  and  half  Norman,  the  quarrels  of  a  hundred 
years  were  ended  in  him.  Normandy,  Anjou,  and  sev- 
eral other  countries  were  his  by  inheritance,  and  he  mar- 
ried Eleanor  of  Aquitaine,  the  divorced  wife  of  Louis 
VII.  of  France,  who  brought  him  the  rich  countries  of 
Guienne  and  Poitou,  besides  some  smaller  ones.  Seldom 
has  a  young  man  of  twenty-one  stepped  at  once  into  such 
possessions.  Henry  was  a  very  different  person,  in  appear- 
ance, from  the  smooth,  courteous,  handsome  Stephen. 
He  was  rough-looking,  red-faced,  bull-necked,  and  very 
strong  and  determined.  He  found  in  England  much  to 
do  and  much  to  undo.  He  began  by  sending  away  the 
foreign  soldiers  brought  over  by  Stephen,  and  who  had 
been  living  on  the  fat  of  the  land  while  Englishmen  were 
starving;  he  pulled  down  the  castles  which  had  sheltered 
licensed  thieves  and  murderers,  and  he  took  back,  from 
those  to  whom  both  Matilda  and  Stephen  had  given  it 
•unlawfully,  much  public  property.  He  caused  the  laws 
to  be  respected,  and  justice  done  to  everyone,  rich  or 
poor.  A  writer  of  his  time  says,  "He  did  not  sit  still  in 
his  palace,  as  most  kings  do;  he  went  about  and  saw 
things  for  himself."  He  knew,  also,  how  to  choose  fit 


THE  FIRST  PLANTAGENET.  65 

helpers;  and  this  brings  us  to  the  name  of  one  of  the 
most  remarkable  men  of  any  age — Thomas  a  Becket. 

Before  we  go  farther  into  sober  history  you  ought  to 
hear  a  pretty  story  about  the  mother  of  Becket.  It  may 
not  be  true,  but  even  if  it  is  not,  it  is  a  charming  little 
romance.* 

Gilbert  a  Becket,  the  father  of  Thomas,  was  an  Eng- 
lishman who  went  to  the  Holy  Land  either  on  a  crusade 
or  a  pilgrimage,  and  was  taken  prisoner  by  a  Saracen. 
His  master  treated  him  kindly,  and  even  allowed  him 
some  intercourse  with  his  family.  The  Saracen  had  a 
young  daughter  who  was  much  interested  in  the  English 
captive,  and  they  grew  very  fond  of  one  another.  After 
a  while,  Becket  had  a  chance  to  escape,  and  did  so,  with 
his  servant,  Richard,  without  any  further  thought  of  the 
Saracen  maiden.  He  went  back  to  England,  and  be- 
came a  prosperous  London  merchant. 

But  the  young  girl  was  not  so  easily  satisfied.  She 
had  learned  from  Becket  just  two  words  of  English — 
"London"  and  "Gilbert."  Being  determined  to  find  her 
lover,  she  stole  away  secretly  from  her  father's  house; 
and  with  these  two  words,  and  some  jewels  to  pay  her 
passage,  she  made  her  way  to  London.  On  arriving  there 
•she  wandered  about  the  streets  calling  out  in  her  soft, 
sweet  voice,  "Gilbert!"  "Gilbert!"  London  was  not  so 
large  then  as  it  is  now,  and  it  happened  that  Richard, 
who  was  still  Becket's  servant,  saw  her  and  took  her  to 
his  master.  Fortunately,  Gilbert  was  not  married;  and 
as  soon  as  the  faithful  Saracen  could  be  baptized  she 
received  the  Christian  name  of  Matilda  instead  of  the 

*  Pronounce  this  word  romance,  with  the  accent  on  the  second 

syllable. 

5 


66  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

heathen  one  she  had  borne  before,  and  he  made  her  his 
wife.  Such  is  the  story,  told  by  a  writer  living  in  Eng- 
land at  that  time. 

Thomas  a  Becket,  the  son  of  Gilbert,  after  receiving  a 
good  English  education,  studied  law  at  the  great  univer- 
sity of  Paris,  and  there,  it  is  said,  got  rid  of  the  Saxon 
accent  which  had  clung  to  him  until  then  and  prevented 
his  being  quite  the  fine  gentleman.  When  he  went  home 
to  England  he  took  his  place  at  once  as  a  thorough  man 
of  the  world;  for,  though  belonging  to  the  clergy,  it  was 
not  necessary  for  him  on  that  account  to  devote  himself 
especially  to  religion.  He  was  gay,  brilliant  and  popular, 
and  a  brave  soldier.  The  king,  who  was  very  fond  of 
him,  promoted  him  from  one  position  to  another  until  he 
reached  the  highest — that  of  chancellor.  He  was  con- 
siderably older  than  Henry,  but  the  king  treated  him  as 
a  companion,  sometimes  indulging  in  what  we  should  call 
pretty  rough  jokes.  One  day  they  were  riding  along 
together  when  they  met  a  miserable  beggar,  scantily 
clothed.  "Look  at  that  poor  wretch,"  said  the  king. 
"Don't  you  think  it  would  be  a  good  idea  to  give  him  a 
warm  cloak?"  "Certainly,"  said  the  dignified  chancellor; 
"it  is  a  kind  thought,  and  I  hope  you  will  carry  it  out." 
"Well,"  answered  the  king,  "suppose  we  give  him  yours;"" 
so  he  seized  Becket's  rich  scarlet  cloak,  trimmed  with 
ermine,  and  tried  to  drag  it  off.  The  chancellor  held 
fast  to  it,  until  at  last  the  clasp  snapped  and  Henry  flung 
the  cloak  to  the  beggar,  who  was  probably  the  most  sur- 
prised man  of  the  company. 

Thomas  a  Becket  had  inherited  a  great  deal  of  money 
from  his  father,  and  he  spent  it  in  a  princely  manner. 
His  table  was  spread  every  day  for  as  many  guests  as 


THE  FIRST  PLANTAGENET.  67 

could  sit  at  it,  and  when  there  were  more  than  could  find 
places  there,  they  sat  on  the  floor,  which  was  covered 
thickly  with  rushes  in  summer  and  straw  in  winter.  It 
was  thought  a  proof  of  the  unbounded  luxury  in  which 
the  chancellor  lived  that  the  rushes  and  straw  on  his  floor 
were  laid  down  fresh  every  day,  (this  was  out  of  respect 
to  the  courtiers'  fine  clothes)  while  common  people  did 
not  have  their  rushes  changed  more  than  once  a  week. 
At  all  houses,  rich  or  poor,  the  bones  and  other  remnants 
of  food  were  thrown  on  the  floor,  during  the  meal  or  after 
it,  to  be  scrambled  for  by  the  dogs. 

It  will  help  to  give  us  an  idea  of  these  feasts,  where  wine 
was  served  in  golden  goblets  and  meat  on  silver  dishes, 
to  know  that  forks  were  not  in  use  at  table,  nor  were 
knives  a  part  of  the  table  furniture.  Each  person  carried 
his  own  pocket-knife,  and  cut  from  the  main  dishes  such 
pieces  as  he  desired,  and  instead  of  forks  they  used  their 
fingers. 

On  some  occasion  King  Henry  wished  to  send  an 
ambassador  to  France,  and  Becket,  being  the  most  splen- 
did person  in  the  kingdom,  was  naturally  chosen  to  go. 
He  thought  he  would  do  honor  to  the  situation,  and  trav- 
eled, if  we  may  believe  Fitz  Stephen,  his  admiring  friend 
and  biographer,  with  a  retinue  of  nearly  a  thousand  per- 
sons. When  he  went  into  a  town,  two  hundred  and  fifty 
singing  boys  heralded  his  approach;  a  long  train  of  wag- 
ons followed,  each  drawn  by  five  horses,  with  a  driver  to 
each  horse.  After  these  came  twelve  horses  carrying 
smaller  articles,  each  with  a  monkey  on  his  back.  Two 
of  the  wagons  carried  ale,  to  be  given  out  to  the  people 
as  they  passed  along;  others  contained  the  gold  and 
silver  vessels  used  at  the  chancellor's  table,  and  the  rest 


68  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

bore  the  various  garments  in  which  his  servants  were  to 
appear.  After  these  came  a  train  of  ladies  and  gentle- 
men, soldiers  and  attendants,  all  splendidly  dressed  and 
equipped,  and  finally  Becket  himself,  in  superb  array. 
After  making  all  due  allowance  for  exaggeration,  it  must 
have  been  a  magnificent  procession. 

A  great  change  was  now  to  take  place.  The  king  had 
certain  plans  which  he  wished  Becket's  help  in  carrying 
out;  and  he  thought  the  best  way  to  do  this  would  be  to 
make  him  Archbishop  of  Canterbury.  Becket  was 
strongly  opposed  to  this;  he  shrank  from  the  responsi- 
bility, and  said  plainly  to  the  king,  in  effect,  "You  will 
be  disappointed  in  me.  We  shall  certainly  quarrel,  for 
you  claim  rights  as  king  which  I,  as  archbishop,  can 
not  allow."  But  Henry  was  not  used  to  being  disap- 
pointed, and  insisted  on  having  his  own  way.  Becket 
immediately  laid  down  all  his  splendors,  wore  sack-cloth 
and  a  hair-shirt,  scourged  himself,  lived  on  bread  and 
water,  and  practised  every  form  of  self-denial  which  is 
supposed  to  elevate  the  soul  by  mortifying  the  body. 
He  daily  washed  the  feet  of  thirteen  beggars  to  prove  his 
humility,  and  wept  over  and  lamented  his  sins  like  any 
common  penitent.  So  far  his  conduct  concerned  only 
himself  and  the  friends  who  had  assembled  round  his 
table  in  the  days  of  his  magnificence;  but  when  he  re- 
signed the  chancellorship  in  order  to  devote  himself  to  his 
spiritual  duties,  the  king  was  seriously  offended.  There 
was  never  any  real  cordiality  between  them  afterward. 

During  the  hundreds  of  years  in  which  the  clergy 
(which  included  all  monks,  as  well  as  priests  and  bishops) 
had  been  increasing  in  power  and  importance,  many  of 
them  had  become  exceedingly  corrupt,  and  led  very  bad 


THE   *IRST  PLANTAGENET.  69 

lives.  It  had  grown  to  be  a  practice  in  the  church  that 
when  one  of  these  persons  committed  a  crime  he  should 
be  judged  only  by  the  clergy  themselves,  (who  might  let 
him  off  with  some  slight  punishment)  and  not  by  the  law 
of  the  land.  Henry  saw  that  this  was  not  right,  and 
declared  that  all  persons  should  be  treated  alike  and  tried 
in  the  regular  courts.  After  a  great  deal  of  angry  dis- 
puting, a  council  was  called  at  Clarendon  at  which  both 
sides  were  represented,  and  a  paper  called  the  "Consti- 
tutions of  Clarendon"  was  drawn  up  accepting  the  king's 
decision,  which  most  of  the  clergy,  the  archbishop  among 
the  rest,  swore  to  observe. 

Becket,  who  had  consented  to  the  Constitutions  sorely 
against  his  will,  soon  obtained  permission  from  the  Pope 
to  break  his  oath.  He  did  not  think  it  prudent  to  remain 
in  England,  but  went  to  France,  where  he  was  received 
with  great  kindness  by  the  king  of  that  country.  After 
six  years  of  self-imposed  banishment,  some  friends  made 
peace  between  him  and  Henry,  and  he  returned  home, 
Henry  asking  him  the  first  time  they  met,  whether  he 
had  gone  away  because  he  thought  England  was  too 
small  to  contain  them  both. 

The  archbishop,  however,  was  not  altered  by  absence. 
He  was  an  old  man  now,  but  his  spirit  was  unbroken,  and 
he  showed  the  same  determination  as  ever.  He  had 
made  up  his  mind  that  the  Church  should  be  the  greatest 
power  in  England,  and  the  king  was  equally  resolved  that 
the  Law  should  rule.  Enraged  by  the  archbishop's  con- 
tinued encroachments,  Henry  once  exclaimed,  "Is  there 
no  one  who  will  rid  me  of  this  insolent  priest?"  Four 
Norman  knights  who  heard  the  angry  words  spoken  left 
the  king's  presence  without  telling  him  of  their  intention, 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


crossed  the  sea  (for  Henry  was  then  in  Normandy),  and 
rode  with  all  speed  to  Canterbury.  There  they  had  a 
stormy  interview  with  the  archbishop,  desiring  him  to 
take  off  the  excommunication  from  one  of  their  own 
friends,  who  had  plundered  the  church  in  Becket's  ab- 
sence, but  this  he  steadily  refused.  At  the  usual  hour  he 
went  into  the  cathedral  to  perform  the  vesper  service. 
He  had  been  warned  that  the  knights  meant  to  kill  him, 
but  he  scorned  to  take  any  measures  for  his  own  defence. 
The  ruffians  then  came  into  the  church  and  struck  at  him 
and  hacked  him  with  their  b. voids,  until  they  left  him 
dead  on  the  cathedral  floor.  In  Canterbury  Cathedral 
is  still  shown  the  place  where  the  cowardly  act  was  done. 

Henry  was  horror-struck  at  hearing  of  the  foul  deed, 
for,  angry  as  he  was,  he  had  not  expected  to  be  taken  at 
his  word.  His  first  care  was  to  be  reconciled  with  the 
Pope,  and  to  give  up  everything  that  he  had  been  fight- 
ing for.  He  actually  annulled  the  "Constitutions  of 
Clarendon"  and  thus  undid  a  measure  that  it  had  been 
the  object  of  his  life  to  accomplish — a  proceeding  which 
necessarily  diminishes  our  respect  for  him. 

The  next  event  of  importance  in  English  history  is  the 
conquest  of  Ireland.  This  country  had  before  been  in- 
dependent, ruled  over  by  five  so-called  "kings"  who  were 
always  at  war  with  one  another,  and  did  not  mind  slicing 
off  noses,  digging  out  eyes  or  tearing  out  tongues  any 
more  than  we  mind  killing  vermin.  Ireland  was  nomi- 
nally Christian,  having  been  converted  by  St.  Patrick  in 
the  fifth  and  St.  Columba  in  the  sixth  century ;  and  for  a 
long  time  the  Irish  monasteries  were  the  centres  of  learn- 
ing and  piety.  Ireland  was  called  "The  Isle  of  Saints 
and  Scholars."  But  the  people  had  gradually  fallen  back 


THE  FIRST  PLANTA GENET.  71 

into  a  state  of  barbarism,  and  their  continual  quarreling 
among  themselves  prevented  them  from  making  any 
improvement. 

Henry  had  received,  some  years  before,  permission 
from  the  Pope  to  conquer  this  island,  for  the  pontiffs  in 
those  days  assumed  the  right  to  dispose  of  all  the  coun- 
tries of  the  earth;  but  hitherto  there  had  been  no  con- 
venient time  for  it.  Now  the  old  story  of  history  repeated 
itself.  One  of  the  kings  asked  for  help  against  another, 
and  Richard  de  Clare  (called  Strongbow)  went  over  with 
a.  band  of  soldiers,  conquered  the  opposing  army,  married 
the  king's  daughter  Eva,  and  made  himself  master  of  the 
king's  dominions.  These  he  was  not  allowed  to  keep, 
but  Henry,  having  subdued  the  rest  of  the  country, 
granted  Strongbow  a  large  estate  there,  while  retaining 
for  himself  the  title  of  king.  Since  that  time  (1172)  Ire- 
land has  belonged  to  England,  and  a  very  troublesome 
piece  of  property  it  has  proved  to  the  English,  who  have 
not  yet  seen  the  last  of  the  perplexities  brought  on  them 
by  the  ambition  of  Henry  II. 

Henry's  declining  years  were  far  from  peaceful.  His 
sons  all  rebelled  against  him,  with  the  connivance  of  their 
mother,  Eleanor  of  Aquitaine,  who  seems  to  have  had  a 
genius  for  making  mischief.  The  king  of  France,  Louis 
VII.  also  took  part  with  the  sons.  Prince  Henry  died 
of  a  fever  and  Geoffrey  had  his  brains  dashed  out  at  a 
tournament,  leaving  only  Richard  and  John  to  continue 
the  war  against  their  father.  Some  of  Henry's  subjects 
joined  the  rebels,  and  William  the  Lion,  king  of  Scot- 
land, entered  into  the  alliance  against  him.  As  these 
things  were  considered  a  judgment  on  the  king  for  Beck- 
et's  murder,  he  resolved  do  public  penance  for  it.  With 


72  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

his  usual  quickness,  (respecting  which  Louis  VII.  of 
France  said,  "The  King  of  England  does  not  sail  nor 
ride;  he  flies,  like  a  bird!"),  Henry  went  quickly  to  Can- 
terbury and,  dismounting  as  soon  as  he  came  in  sight  of 
the  old  towers,  walked  barefoot  to  the  cathedral.  There 
he  remained  all  night  in  prayer,  causing  himself  to  be 
scourged  by  eighty  monks,  each  of  whom  gave  him  a  blow 
as  he  passed.  When  he  returned  to  London  the  first 
news  that  met  him  was  that  William  the  Lion,  king  of 
Scotland,  had  been  taken  prisoner  in  battle,  with  a  large 
part  of  his  army.  The  archbishop  had  already  been 
made  a  saint  by  the  Pope,  and  for  hundreds  of  years  his 
tomb  at  Canterbury  was  the  resort  of  pilgrims,  while  his 
shrine  vied  with  the  most  famous  in  Europe  in  regard  to 
the  miracles  said  to  be  wrought  there. 

By  the  time  King  Henry  was  fifty-six  years  old  he  was 
quite  worn  out  with  anxiety  and  unhappiness.  His  re- 
maining sons  were  again  in  rebellion,  helped  by  Philip 
Augustus  of  France,  who  had  succeeded  the  weak  Louis 
VII.;  and  Henry,  in  desperation,  signed  a  treaty  granting 
whatever  was  asked  of  him.  So  much  agitation  brought 
on  a  fever,  and  in  the  midst  of  it  a  paper  was  brought  to 
him  to  sign,  by  which  he  agreed  to  pardon  all  those  of 
his  own  subjects  who  had  been  in  rebellion.  He  com- 
manded that  the  list  of  names  should  be  read  aloud  to 
him,  and  the  first  one  that  he  heard  was  that  of  his 
youngest  and  favorite  son,  "John,  Duke  of  Mortagne." 

It  was  the  last  drop  of  bitterness  in  the  king's  cup,  and 
it  filled  it  over-full.  He  would  hear  no  more;  he  cursed 
the  day  of  his  birth,  he  cursed  his  rebellious  sons  with  a 
fury  that  nothing  could  induce  him  to  alter,  and  then  he 
turned  his  face  to  the  wall  muttering,  "Let  things  go  as 


THE  FIRST  PLANTAGENET.  73 

they  will;"  and  so  died — a  disappointed,  heart-broken 
man.  In  spite  of  great  faults  and  weaknesses,  Henry 
had  been  a  good  king  for  England.  He  was  in  advance 
of  his  age  in  his  ideas  about  the  rights  of  kings  (of  the 
rights  of  "the  people"  nobody  had  then  any  notion),  but 
his  doctrine  that  the  rulers  of  a  country  should  manage  its 
affairs  without  interference  from  foreigners,  is  one  which 
has  since  become  a  part  of  the  law  of  nations. 

The  main  writers  in  Henry  II. 's  time  were  Fitz  Stephen, 
who  wrote  the  life  of  Thomas  a  Becket,  the  historians  Ger- 
ald of  Cambridge,  Roger  of  Hoveden  and  Walter  Map; 
and  Wace,  a  Norman  poet  who  wrote  histories  in  verse. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

RICHARD    I.    AND   THE   THIRD   CRUSADE. 

JHERE  has  been  a  great  deal  of  sentimental  non- 
sense talked  and  written  about  Richard  Cceur 
de  Lion  (in  English,  Richard  the  Lion-hearted) 
but  the  plain  truth  is  that  he  was,  in  the  general  plan  of 
his  life,  as  selfish  a  man  as  ever  misruled  the  English 
people.  He  was  brave  in  battle;  so  were  thousands  of 
others;  he  could  be  generous  when  it  would  make  a  show 
and  gain  him  credit ;  but  he  began  his  career  by  an  un- 
natural rebellion  against  his  father,  without  a  shadow  of 
excuse  for  it,  and  he  continued  through  most  of  his  life 
to  do  the  things  which  were  for  his  own  pleasure  and 
glory,  and  to  neglect  his  plain  duty,  which  was  to  take 
care  of  his  kingdom  of  England. 


74  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

One  person,  at  least,  had  reason  to  be  glad  of  Rich- 
ard's accession  —  his  mother,  Queen  Eleanor,  whom 
Henry  had  kept  shut  up  in  her  palace  for  sixteen  years, 
on  account  of  her  encouraging  the  rebellion  of  her  sons 
and  trying  to  escape  with  them  to  France.  We  can 
scarcely  blame  him  for  wishing  to  put  her  where  she 
could  do  no  more  harm,  but  she  had  her  own  wrongs  to 
complain  of.  He  openly  showed  that  he  preferred  an- 
other woman,  Rosamond  Clifford,  called  Fair  Rosamond, 
to  the  queen;  so  they  were  a  very  unhappy  couple.  A 
romantic  story  is  told  about  this  Rosamond,  to  the  effect 
that  the  queen  suddenly  appeared  before  her  with  a  dag- 
ger in  one  hand  and  a  cup  of  poison  in  the  other,  and 
asked  her  which  she  would  choose.  According  to  the 
story,  Rosamond  chose  the  poison,  and  drank  it  then  and 
there,  under  the  queen's  eyes;  but  the  real  Rosamond  in 
real  history  became  a  nun,  and  spent  her  life  after  the 
king  left  her,  in  the  convent  of  Godston,  where  the  sis- 
ters were  very  fond  of  her. 

To  return  to  King  Richard.  No  sooner  was  he  in  his 
father's  place  than  he  discovered  that  rebellion  was  a 
very  wicked  thing,  and  immediately  punished  the  persons 
who  had  taken  his  part  against  his  father.  Then  he  was 
crowned  with  great  splendor;  for  Henry  had  left  an  im- 
mense sum  of  money  in  the  royal  treasury,  and  Richard 
could  indulge  his  taste  for  display.  A  horrible  incident 
attended  his  coronation  at  Westminster.  Certain  Jews, 
who  as  a  nation  had  been  forbidden  to  come  to  it,  ven- 
tured in,  bearing  large  gifts,  which  they  thought  would 
make  them  welcome.  Richard  received  the  gifts  willingly 
enough,  but  some  of  the  people,  to  show  their  hatred  and 
spite  against  all  Jews,  drove  them  out  with  abusive  Ian- 


RICHARD  I.   AND    THE    THIRD   CRUSADE.       75 

guage  and  pelted  them  with  sticks  and  stones.  Upon 
seeing  this,  others  spread  the  report  that  the  king  had 
ordered  the  Jews  to  be  killed,  and  a  general  massacre  of 
those  unfortunate  people  took  place.  The  frantic  multi- 
tude not  only  attacked  those  they  met  out  of  doors,  but 
burst  into  their  houses,  stabbing  men,  women,  and  chil- 
dren, or  throwing  them  out  of  the  windows  into  the  street, 
where  they  were  soon  dispatched  by  the  infuriated  crowd. 
Only  three  men  concerned  in  these  brutal  outrages  were 
punished,  and  these,  not  for  what  they  had  done  to  the 
Jews,  but  because  in  the  confusion  they  had  set  fire  to 
the  houses  of  some  Christians. 

The  contagion  of  lawlessness  soon  spread  to  other 
•cities,  where  the  wretched  Israelites  were  murdered  by 
hundreds.  At  York,  after  terrible  cruelties  had  been 
committed  against  them,  some  five  hundred  of  them  took 
possession  of  the  castle  in  the  absence  of  the  governor, 
and  tried  to  defend  themselves  there.  A  mob  of  citizens 
battered  at  the  gates  for  two  or  three  days,  and  at  last 
the  Jews  found  it  useless  to  keep  up  the  attempt.  After 
destroying,  as  far  as  they  could,  their  jewels  and  other 
valuables,  the  greater  part  of  them  agreed  to  die  by  their 
own  hands.  They  killed  their  wives  and  children,  and 
then,  having  set  fire  everywhere  to  the  castle,  stabbed 
themselves.  A  few  cowering  wretches,  hiding  away  as  well 
as  they  could  from  the  flames,  were  found  by  the  assail- 
ants when  they  succeeded  in  breaking  down  the  gates,  and 
on  these  they  wreaked  their  vengeance;  but  the  greater 
part  of  their  victims  were  already  blackened  corpses. 

None  of  these  things  moved  Richard,  nor  did  he  make 
any  effort  toward  checking  the  hideous  deeds  of  his  sub- 
jects. He  was  busy  preparing  for  a  crusade.  The  Holy 


76  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

Sepulchre  (and  of  course  the  city  of  Jerusalem)  had  been 
conquered  again  by  the  Mohammedans  after  the  Chris- 
tians had  held  it  for  eighty-seven  years,  and  the  warriors  of 
Europe  were  going  to  the  Holy  Land  to  try  to  get  it  back 
again.  This  was  the  third  crusade,  a  second  one  having 
been  undertaken  about  forty  years  before,  for  the  purpose 
of  taking  some  Turkish  cities  in  Palestine.  All  these 
undertakings  required  enormous  sums  of  money;  and 
Richard,  besides  using  up  the  vast  treasure  left  by  his 
father,  obtained  much  more,  some  of  it  by  dishonorable 
means,  some  by  merciless  extortion.  "I  would  sell  Lon- 
don," he  exclaimed,  "if  I  could  find  a  bidder." 

Philip  Augustus  of  France  joined  him  at  Messina,  in 
Sicily,  and  here  Richard  was  also  met  by  his  promised 
wife,  Berengaria  of  Navarre,  who  presented  herself  under 
his  mother's  escort.  As  it  was  then  the  season  of  Lent, 
the  Catholic  church  would  not  allow  of  their  marrying, 
and  the  fleets  set  off  for  Palestine.  When  they  drew  earn 
the  island  of  Cyprus,  a  violent  storm  obliged  some  of  the 
English  vessels  to  seek  for  shelter  in  one  of  its  harbors. 
This  was  rudely  refused  by  Isaac  Comnenus,  the  king  of 
the  island;  so  Richard  must  stop  to  fight  him  before  going 
on  with  his  crusading  business,  and  had  the  satisfaction 
of  making  him  prisoner  and  taking  possession  of  the 
island,  which  he  left  some  of  his  soldiers  to  guard.  The 
foolish  old  king  was  put  in  silver  chains,  and  kept  in  them 
until  he  died,  some  four  years  afterward;  while  his  daugh- 
ter was  compelled  to  become  a  waiting-maid  to  Beren- 
garia, whom  Richard  married  before  leaving  Cyprus. 

When  he  at  last  arrived  in  Syria,  after  waiting  the 
greater  part  of  a  year  in  Sicily  and  Cyprus,  he  found 
Philip's  army  so  much  weakened  by  disease  and  battle 


RICHARD  I.   AND    THE    THIRD   CRUSADE.       77 

that  the  men  had  begun  to  lose  heart.  They  were  be- 
sieging the  town  of  Acre,  a  strong  fortress,  guarded  by 
the  magnificent  sultan  Saladin,  who  was  at  least  a  match 
for  his  Christian  foes  in  soldiership,  and  superior  to  both 
the  leaders  in  nobility  of  character.  The  arrival  of  Rich- 
ard put  new  spirit  into  the  crusading  army,  and  after 
some  terrible  fighting,  Acre  was  taken.  A  treaty  was 
made  in  which  Saladin  promised  to  give  up  the  true  cross 
(which  was  supposed  to  be  still  preserved  at  Jerusalem) 
to  pay  an  enormous  ransom  in  gold  for  such  of  his  sol- 
diers as  were  in  the  Crusader's  hands,  and  to  restore 
without  ransom  all  his  Christian  captives.  Part  of  the 
treaty  he  said  he  could  not  carry  out  within  the  forty  days 
agreed  upon,  and  asked  for  an  extension  of  time;  which 
the  Christian  king  answered  by  bringing  out  three  thous- 
and Saracen  prisoners  and  having  them  hanged  in  sight 
of  their  own  people. 

Philip  of  France  had  no  share  in  this  murderous  deed; 
he  had  already  left  the  Holy  Land,  disgusted  at  Richard's 
arrogance  and  vain-glory,  jealous  of  his  superior  fame  as 
a  fighter,  and  ill  from  the  effects  of  the  sultry  climate. 
He  left  ten  thousand  men  under  Richard's  command  and 
then  returned  to  France,  having  first  taken  an  oath  to  do 
nothing  in  England  contrary  to  Richard's  interests. 

On  his  way  back  he  stopped  in  Rome,  where  the  Pope 
absolved  him  from  his  oath,  and  when  he  reached  home 
he  and  John  lost  no  time  in  conspiring  against  Richard. 
The  latter  was  now  left  to  conduct  the  war  alone.  His 
example  inspired  his  soldiers,  and  they  fought  on  for  a 
year  and  a  half,  not  hindered  by  heat  or  disease  or  loss. 
Richard  took  the  city  of  Ascalon,  and  several  others,  but 
when  the  army  arrived  in  sight  of  Jerusalem  there  was  so 


78  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

much  opposition  from  his  officers  to  spilling  more  Chris- 
tian blood  and  spending  more  Christian  time  and  money 
on  the  almost  hopeless  work,  that  he  was  obliged  to  give 
up.  He  returned  to  Ascalon,  where  he  found  that  the 
fortress  needed  repairing,  and  as  it  suited  him  to  help  the 
laborers  by  working  at  this  with  his  own  hands,  he  in- 
sisted that  all  the  other  commanders  should  do  the  same. 
When  the  Duke  of  Austria,  saying  that  he  was  not  a 
mason,  refused  to  join  in  the  work,  it  is  said  that  Richard 
struck  him. 

It  was  at  last  decided  by  all  the  Crusaders  that  they 
might  better  go  back.  They  were  wasting  precious  hu- 
man lives  as  well  as  money  to  no  purpose;  and  there 
were  those  among  them  who  had  business  at  home,  even 
if  the  king  of  England  had  none.  So  Richard,  as  repre- 
senting the  whole  body  of  the  Crusaders,  made  a  truce 
with  Saladin  which  was  to  last  three  years,  three  months,, 
three  days,  and  three  hours.  This  being  done,  the  wasted 
army  set  sail  from  the  shores  of  Palestine,  which  most  of 
them  never  saw  again. 

Richard's  ship  was  wrecked  on  the  way  home,  and  he 
was  cast  ashore  in  the  dominions  of  the  Duke  of  Austria, 
the  very  one  whom  he  had  insulted  at  Ascalon.  He 
tried  to  disguise  himself,  but  his  kingly  ways  betrayed 
him,  and  the  Duke  sent  him  on  to  the  Emperor  of  Ger- 
many, by  whom  he  was  kept  in  prison  for  more  than  a 
year.  A  pretty  story  is  told  as  to  how  his  friends  at  home 
found  out  where  he  was.  Richard  was  a  fine  musician, 
and  had  himself  composed  songs  which  he  and  his  favor- 
ite page,  Blondel  de  Nesle,  used  to  sing  together.  Blon- 
del  was  determined  to  find  out  where  his  master  was,  so- 
he  strolled  about  to  the  different  castles  in  Germany  sing- 


RICHARD  I.   AND    THE    THIRD    CRUSADE.       79 

ing  a  song  composed  by  Richard  himself;  "O,  Richard! 
o  mon  roy !"  When  he  reached  the  right  castle,  a  well- 
known  voice  from  the  tower  above  joined  in,  and  Blon- 
del  carried  the  good  news  to  England. 

This  would  be  a  beautiful  story  if  it  were  true.  The 
only  trouble  about  it  is  that  it  was  invented  by  some  poet 
who  wrote  long  after  both  king  and  minstrel  had  been 
laid  in  their  graves.  It  illustrates,  however,  the  strong 
personal  feeling  which  subsided  between  master  and  man 
in  the  age  of  chivalry.* 

After  some  bargaining  Richard  was  permitted  to  ran- 
som himself;  and  the  English,  proud  of  their  warlike 
king,  who  had  brought  them  so  much  glory  and  so  little 
good,  soon  raised  the  money  needed.  Ladies  gave  their 
jewels,  the  people  submitted  willingly  to  extra  taxes,  and 
at  length  Richard  stood  once  more  upon  the  shores  of 
his  own  country. 

His  brother  John  and  Philip  of  France  had  done  what 
they  could  toward  unsettling  the  government,  but  the 
people  were  too  much  in  favor  of  law  and  order  to  ven- 
ture on  any  great  change ;  and  Eleanor,  the  mother  of 
Richard  and  John,  who  was  as  true  to  Richard  as  she  had 
been  false  to  her  husband,  used  her  great  influence  in  her 
elder  son's  favor.  When  Philip  heard  of  Richard's  being 
set  at  liberty  he  wrote  to  John,  "Take  care  of  yourself, 
for  the  devil  has  broken  loose."  But  John  did  not  need 
to  "take  care"  of  himself  in  this  sense.  Richard  gener- 
ously forgave  all  his  misdeeds,  and  remarked  as  he  did 
so,  "I  wish  I  could  forget  his  injuries  as  easily  as  he  will 
forget  my  pardon !" 

*For  a  description  of  chivalry  see  "A  Short  History  of  France," 
p.  114. 


80  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

Against  Philip  his  feelings  were  very  bitter,  and  as  soon 
as  he  had  raised  money  enough  he  invaded  his  dominions. 
To  obtain  money  for  his  wars,  the  king  no  longer  de- 
pended upon  taxes,  but  resorted  to  the  most  unscrupu- 
lous measures.  Among  others,  he  ordered  the  great  seal 
to  be  broken,  and  then  announced  that  no  grants  made 
under  that  seal  were  legal,  unless  the  fees  belonging  to 
the  grant  were  paid  a  second  time,  under  a  new  seal 
which  he  caused  to  be  made  for  the  purpose.  In  short, 
he  was  what  in  our  day  would  be  called  a  swindler ;  but 
no  one  thought  of  applying  an  equivalent  word  to  him 
because  he  was — the  king. 

In  the  course  of  the  war  Richard  heard  that  one  of  his 
Norman  vassals  had  found  a  treasure  hidden  in  his  land. 
Richard  demanded  this,  and  on  the  owner's  declining  to 
give  him  more  than  half  of  it,  immediately  besieged  him 
in  his  castle  of  Chaluz.  The  garrison  defended  them- 
selves bravely,  but  the  castle  was  taken,  and  Richard, 
wounded  in  the  fight,  ordered  every  man  to  be  hanged 
with  the  exception  of  Bertrand  de  Gourdon,  who  had  shot 
him  with  an  arrow.  "What  harm  had  I  done  you,"  he 
asked,  "that  you  should  wish  to  kill  me?"  "You  slew  my 
father  and  my  two  brothers  with  your  own  hands,"  an- 
swered Bertrand,  "and  you  would  have  slain  me  if  you 
could.  Do  your  worst ;  I  am  content  to  die,  since  I  have 
rid  the  world  of  a  tyrant."  Richard,  who  by  this  time 
knew  that  his  wound  was  mortal,  ordered  that  the  young 
man  should  be  set  free ;  but  as  soon  as  he  was  dead,  his 
officers  put  Bertrand  to  most  horrible  torture  and  then 
hanged  him. 

Richard's  character  was  a  strange  mixture  of  a  certain 
kind  of  loftiness,  with  intense  selfishness  and  absolute  dis- 


RICHARD  I.   AND    THE    THIRD   CRUSADE.       81 

regard  of  his  plainest  duty.  He  was  a  fine  soldier,  but 
much  more  than  that  is  needed  to  make  a  good  king  or 
a  good  man.  With  his  abilities,  for  he  had  plenty  of 
brains,  he  might  have  ruled  well  and  made  his  people 
happy;  but  his  one  desire  was  for  personal  glory,  and  the 
rights  of  others  were  but  as  dust  in  the  balance. 

In  Sir  Walter  Scott's  novels  of  "Ivanhoe"  and  "The 
Talisman"  the  romantic  side  of  Richard's  life  is  portrayed. 
It  is  not  necessary  for  a  novelist  to  say  all  the  ill  that  he 
knows  of  his  hero.  We  can  enjoy  the  heroic  part  of  the 
story,  but  it  is  only  right  that  we  should  hear  the  other 
side  too.  Of  his  ten  years'  reign,  Richard  spent  in  all 
only  six  months  in  England;  four  in  preparation  for  the 
crusade,  and  two  on  his  return  from  that  expedition,  and 
in  both  these  cases  his  only  object  was  to  force  money 
from  his  subjects.  Justice,  law,  and  order  were  appar- 
ently no  concern  of  his.  If  he  could  obtain  the  means 
for  his  personal  gratification,  the  interest  of  a  million  or 
two  of  people  could  take  care  of  itself. 

One  of  the  best-known  names  in  England  during  Rich- 
ard's reign  was  that  of  Robin  Hood,  a  famous  outlaw* 
who  lived,  with  a  band  of  men  like  himself,  in  Sherwood 
Forest.  Their  sole  business  was  highway  robbery,  and 
they  made  a  great  merit  of  occasionally  giving  to  the  poor 
what  they  stole  from  the  rich.  The  clergy  were  the  ob- 
jects of  their  special  dislike,  and  they  delighted  in  taking 
property  belonging  to  the  Church. 

*A  person  who  has  committed  certain  crimes  which  put  him  out 
of  the  protection  of  the  law,  so  that  any  one  is  allowed  to  kill  him 
at  sight. 


82  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

CHAPTER  X. 

JOHN    LACKLAND   AND   THE   MAGNA   CHARTA. 

jNGLAND  had  good  reason  to  be  sorry  for  the 
death  of  Richard  I.;  for,  bad  as  his  rule  had 
been,  it  was  not  so  utterly  disgraceful  as  that 
of  his  worthless  brother  John,  and  the  people  could  then 
take  pride  in  their  king's  great  schemes,  though  the 
money  for  carrying  them  out  had  been  wrung  from  their 
own  life-blood.  But  there  was  nothing  to  admire  in  John. 
From  his  boyhood  he  had  been  base,  mean,  and  treach- 
erous, and  it  is  probable  that  the  dread  of  these  qualities 
accounted  for  much  of  the  grief  shown  at  Richard's  death. 
Henry  II.  had  jokingly  given  his  youngest  son  the  nick- 
name of  "Lackland,"  because  he  did  not  inherit  any 
special  province,  as  the  others  did,  though  he  was  to  be 
amply  provided  for;  and  the  name  has  stuck  to  him  ever 
since,  made  doubly  appropriate  by  his  loss  of  the  rich 
Continental  possessions  which  had  for  so  long  been  the 
glory  of  the  English  nation. 

Arthur  of  Brittany,  son  of  John's  older  brother  Geoffrey, 
had  been  put  forward  by  his  friends  as  the  rightful  heir 
to  the  throne,  and  his  claim  had  been  at  first  supported 
by  Philip  Augustus  of  France;  but  upon  the  marriage  of 
Philip's  son  Louis  with  Blanche  of  Castile,  John's  niece, 
the  French  king  abandoned  the  claim  of  Arthur,  whom 
John  kept  in  confinement. 

An  impenetrable  cloud  of  mystery  hangs  over  the  fate 
of  this  unfortunate  prince.  When  he  was  sixteen  years 
old  he  escaped  from  the  custody  of  his  uncle  and  raised 


JOHN  LACKLAND.     THE  MAGNA  CHARTA.       83 

a  force  in  Brittany  to  go  against  him,  but  was  defeated 
and  again  made  prisoner.  After  this  all  is  deep  darkness ; 
the  most  apparently  trustworthy  account  of  his  death 
states  that  John,  taking  him  out  in  a  boat  to  the  middle 
of  the  Seine,  stabbed  him  with  his  own  hand  and  threw 
his  body  into  the  river. 

In  Shakspeare's  tragedy  of  "King  John"  we  have  the 
main  facts  in  the  life  both  of  the  king  and  of  his  unhappy 
nephew,  though  the  poet  has  taken  some  liberties  with 
the  less  important  details.  When  the  facts  became 
known,  the  barons  of  Brittany  appealed  to  Philip  to  make 
war  on  the  murderer  of  their  young  duke.  Philip  was 
the  over-lord  (suzerain)  of  both  Brittany  and  Normandy 
as  well  as  of  all  the  other  countries  within  the  limits  of 
France,  and  was  therefore  bound  to  protect  any  one  of 
them  against  the  encroachments  of  another.  He  lost 
no  time  in  invading  Normandy,-  which  one  would 
have  expected  John  to  defend  with  all  his  might 
But  his  mind  was  occupied  with  something  else.  Hav- 
ing fallen  in  love  with  a  beautiful  girl,  Isabella  of 
Angouleme,  who  was  betrothed  to  Hugh  de  la  Marche, 
he  divorced  his  own  wife,  and  having  obtained  the 
consent  of  Isabella's  parents,  married  her  without  regard 
to  her  previous  engagement.  At  the  time  of  Philip's 
invasion  of  Normandy,  John  was  idling  away  his  time 
at  Rouen  with  his  new  queen,  feasting  and  dancing, 
seeing  tournaments  and  listening  to  minstrels,  while 
Philip  was  taking  city  after  city  and  castle  after 
castle,  almost  without  resistance.  At  last  the  French 
army  approached  Rouen,  and  John  fled  hastily  across 
the  Channel.  Philip  took  possession  of  Rouen,  and 
Normandy  was  reunited  to  France  after  having  be- 


84  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

longed  to  English  kings  for  nearly  a  hundred  and  forty 
years. 

It  was  the  best  thing  that  could  have  happened  to 
England.  Humiliating  though  it  was  to  the  Englishmen 
of  that  time  to  see  one  of  their  fairest  possessions  slip 
away  from  them  through  no  fault  of  their  own,  it  really 
secured  the  independence  of  their  country.  Up  to  this 
time  the  kings  of  England  had  passed  more  time  in 
France  than  in  their  adopted  country;  their  main  interest 
had  lain  in  their  Continental  possessions,  and  it  was  well 
that  English  kings  should  have  English  hearts,  and  not 
owe  a  divided  allegiance.  From  the  time  of  John,  Eng- 
land was  a  country  by  itself. 

Philip's  conquests  did  not  stop  with  Normandy.  All 
the  earldoms  in  France  which  had  come  to  England  with 
the  "Angevins,"*  Anjou,  Maine,  Touraine,  etc.,  were  taken 
by  him,  leaving  only  a  remnant  in  the  hands  of  the  un- 
worthy John. 

The  old  question  of  authority  had  never  been  quite 
settled  between  the  king  and  the  church.  Henry  II.,  as 
we  have  seen,  had  annulled  the  Constitutions  of  Claren-, 
don,  the  safeguard  against  ecclesiastical  tyranny,  and' 
since  then  the  clergy  had  been  allowed  to  have  their  own 
way  in  everything,  provided  they  were  ready  with  their 
angelst  to  fill  the  king's  purse  when  he  needed  money. 
Just  at  this  time,  however,  the  Archbishop  of  Canterburyi 
died,  and  the  vacancy  was  filled  by  Pope  Innocent  III., 
without  referring  to  the  king.  The  person  chosen  was 
Stephen  Langton,  an  excellent  and  very  able  man,  against 

'Belonging  to  the  Anjou  family. 

t  A  gold  coin,  so  called  from  its  being  stamped  with  the  figure  of 
an  angel. 


JOHN  LACKLAND.      THE  MAGNA  CHAR'TA.       85 

whom  there  could  be  no  personal  objection;  but  John 
stood  out  bravely  for  his  right  as  king  and  against  foreign 
interference  in  English  affairs.  The  Pope  at  once  laid 
the  whole  kingdom  under  an  "interdict."  By  this  all 
public  religious  services  were  forbidden;  the  churches 
were  closed,  the  bells  stopped  ringing,  no  marriages  or 
burial  services  could  be  performed,  no  masses  said  for 
living  or  dead.  The  baptism  of  new-born  infants  and 
extreme  unction  for  the  dying  were  alone  permitted.  The 
people  trembled  for  fear  worse  things  should  come  upon 
them,  and  began,  rather  under  their  breath,  to  murmur 
against  the  king,  who  cared  nothing  for  their  displeasure. 
Then  the  Pope  excommunicated  King  John,  and  wound 
up  by  pronouncing  a  sentence  of  deposition  against  him ; 
that  is,  declaring  that  he  was  no  longer  king,  and  that 
his  subjects  were  excused  from  any  further  obedience  to 
him.  Of  course  he  was  furiously  angry  at  all  this,  and 
began  to  prepare  for  war.  As  he  had  already  taken  all 
he  could  get  by  ordinary  means,  he  had  to  look  about  for 
something  extraordinary,  and  remembered  the  Jews, 
whom  it  was  always  in  order  to  rob  and  oppress.  One 
instance  will  show  his  methods:  Having  demanded  an 
enormous  gift  from  a  rich  Jew  who  refused  to  make  it,  he 
had  him  shut  up,  and  caused  a  tooth  to  be  pulled  each 
day  out  of  the  poor  man's  head,  beginning  with  the  double 
ones.  The  Jew  bore  it  until  seven  teeth  were  gone,  and 
on  the  eighth  day  he  paid  the  money.  We  may  imagine 
how  such  people  loved  King  John. 

But  all  his  tricks  (and  there  were  many  of  them)  could 
not  ward  off  his  misfortunes.  The  Pope  having  told  the 
king  of  France  that  if  he  would  invade  England  all  his  sins 
would  be  forgiven,  Philip  got  an  army  together  for  that 


86  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

purpose.  Just  as  he  was  ready  to  set  out,  the  English 
barons,  who  had  no  mind  to  see  a  French  army  land 
upon  their  shores,  made  ready  for  defence.  At  the  same 
time,  the  Pope  sent  a  legate  or  messenger,  named  Pandulf, 
to  persuade  the  king  that  the  best  thing  he  could  do 
would  be  to  submit.  So  John,  deserted  by  everyone, 
and  with  Philip's  army  standing  ready  to  cross  the  Chan- 
nel, appointed  a  public  meeting  between  Pandulf  and 
himself,  at  which  he  gravely  took  off  his  crown  and  laid 
it  at  the  legate's  feet,  to  be  put  on  again  by  him  as  a  sub- 
ject of  the  Pope;  he  consented  to  Langton's  being  arch- 
bishop, and  promised  to  pay  the  Pope  an  annual  tribute 
of  money  (1213).  The  next  day,  Archbishop  Langton 
took  off  all  the  Pope's  sentences,  and  John,  having  fallen 
as  low  as  he  could  in  his  own  estimation  and  other 
people's,  set  about  planning  fresh  wickedness. 

As  soon  as  this  ceremony  was  over  and  the  king  was 
sufficiently  humbled,  the  Pope  sent  word  to  Philip  that  as 
John  was  now  a  faithful  and  obedient  son  of  the  Church, 
any  one  opposing  him  would  be  considered  an  enemy  to 
true  religion,  and  would  be  dealt  with  accordingly.  Phil- 
ip's anger  at  this  change  of  face  knew  no  bounds,  and  he 
pressed  on  his  preparations  for  the  grand  invasion  more 
vigorously  than  ever.  Then  the  English  people,  who  were 
not  wanting  to  themselves  in  times  of  emergency,  fitted 
out  a  fleet  which  fell  upon  that  of  Philip  in  the  harbor 
of  Damme,  in  Flanders,  and  utterly  destroyed  it.  This 
was  the  first  of  the  many  struggles  that  have  taken  place 
at  sea  between  the  French  and  English.  It  was  soon 
followed  by  the  battle  of  Bouvines,  in  Flanders.  John 
had  turned  the  tables  on  Philip  by  invading  Poitou,  which 
was  in  Philip's  dominions.  The  English  king  was  helped 


JOHN  LACKLAND.      THE  MAGNA  CHART  A.       87 

by  his  nephew,  the  Emperor  Otho  of  Germany;  yet 
Philip  won  a  splendid  victory,  and  John  made  the  best 
of  his  way  back  to  his  own  country. 

His  subjects  were  now  thoroughly  tired  of  a  man  whose 
tyranny,  cruelty,  meanness,  and  lawlessness  left  no  one 
safe,  and  determined  to  force  him  into  an  agreement  by 
which  they  hoped  to  be  able  to  bind  him.  At  their  head 
•was  Stephen  Langton,  a  thoroughly  patriotic  man,  who 
by  the  way,  brought  on  himself  the  displeasure  of  the 
Pope  by  his  efforts  to  reform  the  newly-reconciled  son  of 
the  Church;  but  Langton  saw  so  clearly  what  was  right 
that  not  even  the  Pope's  censure  made  him  hesitate. 
There  was  much  discussion  between  the  king  and  the 
barons,  who  really  represented  the  people  of  England, 
though  they  had  not  been  chosen  by  them ;  and  at  last, 
both  parties  met  at  Runnymede,  a  pleasant  place  on  the 
banks  of  the  Thames  near  where  Windsor  Castle  now 
•stands.  Here  we  approach  one  of  the  greatest  events  in 
English  history,  over-topping  both  foreign  war  and  domes- 
tic rebellion.  John  angrily  declared  that  he  would  never 
grant  such  liberties  to  his  people  as  would  make  himself 
a  slave;  but  the  barons  were  too  strong  for  him,  and, 
sorely  against  his  will  he  signed  "The  Great  Charter"* 
on  the  fifteenth  of  June,  1215.  This  repeated  some  of 
the  declarations  of  Henry  I.'s  charter,  which  had  always 
been  so  dear  to  the  people;  but  contained  besides  these 
many  new  provisions,  among  which  stands  the  famous 
sentence,  "No  free-man  shall  be  imprisoned,  outlawed, 
or  exiled,  or  dispossessed  of  his  lands,  but  by  the  lawful 
judgment  of  his  peers,  t  or  by  the  law  of  the  land."  J  Many 

*Magna  Charta;  (pronounced  Carta). 

t  Equals.       %  A  translation,  as  the  Charter  was  written  in  Latin. 


88  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

kings  afterward  swore  to  observe  this  charter;  many  of 
them  broke  their  oaths;  but  the  great  principle  laid  down 
in  it  has  remained  from  that  day  to  this  the  safeguard  of 
English  liberty,  and  we  have  inherited  its  protecting  in- 
fluence. * 

By  signing  an  agreement  like  this,  King  John  felt  that 
he  had  thrown  away  his  own  privileges,  and  his  first  effort 
was  to  find  out  how  he  could  avoid  keeping  it.  He  sent 
at  once  for  assistance  to  his  friend  the  Pope,  who  oblig- 
ingly annulled  the  Great  Charter,  and  declared  it  not  at 
all  binding  on  the  king  who  had  sworn  to  it.  The  foreign 
mercenariest  which  John  had  sent  for,  arrived  at  the 
same  time  with  the  Pope's  bull,  and  John  let  them  loose 
on  the  English  people,  to  carry  fire  and  sword  through 
the  whole  extent  of  England.  There  had  not  been  such 
merciless  destruction  since  the  time  of  the  Conqueror. 
John  himself  accompanied  the  army,  and,  as  a  sign  of 
his  displeasure,  set  fire  each  morning  to  the  village  where 
he  had  spent  the  night. \ 

The  barons  seem  to  have  thought  when  the  charter 
was  signed  that  they  had  nothing  more  to  do;  and  they 
were  unprepared  for  such  an  attack.  In  despair  of  secur- 
ing their  rights  by  their  own  efforts,  they  sent  word  to 
Prince  Louis,  oldest  son  of  Philip  Augustus,  that  if  he 
would  come  to  England  with  an  army  and  fight  for  their 
rights,  he  should  be  their  king.  John  they  could  endure 
no  longer. 

*"From  her  worst  king  and  meanest  reign, 

How  sprang  old  England's  greatest  gain! " — Old  rhyme. 
t  Soldiers  hired  to  fight  for  some  other  country  than  their  own. 
J  At  an  earlier  period  in  his  career  he  had  caused  twenty-two 
prisoners  of  war  to  be  starved  to  death  at  once  in  Corfe  Castle. 


JOHN  LACKLAND.      THE  MAGNA   CHARTA.       89 

Louis  spent  a  long  time  in  making  preparations,  and 
at  last  arrived,  nearly  a  year  after  the  signing  of  the  char- 
ter. For  some  time  the  English  were  enthusiastic  about 
him,  but  after  a  while  they  began  to  see  that  they  had 
made  a  mistake.  He  was  a  Frenchman,  and  by  this  time 
England  had  become  thoroughly  English.  There  was 
fighting  between  him  and  John;  castles  were  besieged 
and  taken,  and  the  desolating  civil  war  might  have  con- 
tinued as  long  as  it  did  in  the  time  of  King  Stephen,  but 
that  the  death  of  John,  most  welcome  to  the  perplexed 
and  harassed  nation,  brought  it  to  an  unexpected  end. 

The  broad,  shallow  bay  called  The  Wash,  on  the  coast 
of  Norfolk  and  Lincolnshire,  has  a  road  along  the  shore 
which  can  be  traveled  only  when  the  tide  is  low.  In 
passing  over  this  with  the  rising  tide,  King  John  lost  not 
only  some  of  his  soldiers,  but  the  treasure  chests  which 
carried  his  money  and  the  crown -jewels.  The  distress 
.of  mind  caused  by  this  accident  threw  him  into  a  fever, 
which  soon  ended  his  miserable  life.  He  traveled  on  as 
far  as  Swinstead  Abbey,  near  Newark,  where  the  monks 
took  as  good  care  of  him  as  they  knew  how;  but  as  they 
gave  him  fresh  peaches  to  eat  and  new  cider  to  drink — 
probably  not  the  best  food  for  a  man  in  a  high  fever — he 
did  not  last  long,  and  relieved  England  of  his  presence 
by  dying,  after  a  reign  of  seventeen  years,  in  1216. 

It  is  a  singular  proof  of  the  detestation  in  which  this 
king's  name  was  held  by  the  English  people,  that  nearly 
two  hundred  years  afterward,  in  the  insurrection  of  Wat 
Tyler,  the  rebels  made  it  one  of  their  conditions  that  no 
king  of  the  name  of  John  should  ever  be  permitted  again 
to  reign  in  England. 


90  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

HENRY   III.      SIMON   DE   MONTFORT.      FIRST   HOUSE 
OF   COMMONS. 

|HE  English  began  to  show  the  French  prince 
the  cold  shoulder  as  soon  as  they  knew  of 
John's  death.  The  king  had  left  a  son,  nine 
years  old,  and  the  barons  (who  stood  for  England)  said, 
"This  child  has  done  no  harm;  why  should  we  deprive 
him  of  his  birthright  on  account  of  his  father's  sins?"  So 
Louis  took  himself  and  his  soldiers  home  again.  The 
little  Prince,  John's  son,  was  crowned  without  delay  as 
Henry  III.  The  real  crown  had  been  lost  with  King 
John's  other  valuables  in  the  Wash,  so  a  jeweler  hastily 
made  a  plain  gold  band  which  was  placed  on  his  head 
by  the  Pope's  legate,  and  he  was  made  to  say  that  he 
held  his  crown  as  a  subject  of  the  Pope.  A  better  part 
of  the  little  king's  entrance  into  public  life  was  that  he 
promised  to  observe  his  father's  charter  —  the  Magna 
Charta.  He  never  thought  of  keeping  this  promise,  when 
he  grew  to  be  a  man,  but  it  was  good  for  the  people  to 
be  thus  reminded  of  their  rights.  The  Earl  of  Pembroke, 
a  wise  and  upright  man  who  had  married  Henry's  sister, 
was  appointed  Protector  of  the  kingdom  until  the  king 
should  be  of  age.  The  Earl  lived  only  three  years  after 
this;  but  his  place  was  taken  by  another  equally  admira- 
ble man,  Hubert  de  Burgh,  who  governed  well  in  Henry's 
name  until  the  latter,  grown  to  manhood,  took  things 
into  his  own  hands,  and  poor,  weak,  unsteady,  helpless 
hands  they  were.  The  whole  of  de  Burgh's  after  life 


HENRY  III.       SIMON  DE  MONTFORT.  91 

•shows  that  any  charge  of  baseness  against  him,  such  as 
appears  in  Shakspeare's  "King  John,"  must  rest  upon  a 
mistake.  It  was  to  his  promptness  and  energy  that 
Prince  Louis  owed  the  naval  defeat  which  took  away  the 
last  hope  of  establishing  a  French  king  in  England.  De 
Burgh,  who  was  governor  of  Dover  Castle,  gathered  a 
band  of  resolute  men  together  and  drove  away  the  ships 
sent  to  Louis's  assistance. 

As  the  young  king  grew  to  manhood  he  showed  him- 
self frivolous,  unstable,  and  self-willed,  having  neither  the 
dignity  of  a  man  nor  the  docility  of  a  child.  The  flat- 
terers about  him  persuaded  him  that  de  Burgh  was  the 
evil  genius  of  the  country,  and  Henry  turned  like  a  viper 
which  the  fire  has  warmed  into  life,  to  sting  his  benefac- 
tor. The  king  himself  had  made  some  inglorious  cam- 
paigns in  France,  the  failure  of  which  was  laid  at  de 
Burgh's  door,  and  the  faithful  minister  was  dragged  from 
a  chapel  where  he  had  taken  refuge,  and  carried  to  the 
shop  of  a  smith  who  was  ordered  to  rivet  shackles  on  his 
legs.  "Never!"  cried  the  smith.  "You  shall  kill  me 
before  I  will  put  iron  on  the  man  who  freed  my  country 
from  the  Frenchman  and  saved  Dover!"  Finding  that 
the  smith  would  not  be  bullied,  the  ruffians  tied  de  Burgh 
to  a  horse,  and  thus  strongly  guarded,  he  was  taken  to 
London  and  thrown  into  the  Tower.  After  some  time 
he  escaped,  but  did  not  appear  again  in  public  life. 

At  the  age  of  twenty,  Henry  made  an  imprudent  mar- 
riage with  Eleanor,  daughter  of  the  Count  of  Provence, 
in  France.  Her  friends  and  relations  fastened  them- 
selves upon  the  English  like  leeches.  Four  of  her  uncles 
came  with  her,  and  were  sumptuously  supported  at  the 
public  expense;  and  the  court  was  filled  with  foreigners 


92  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

who  were  lodged,  fed,  and  entertained  by  King  Henry 
as  if  he  had  possessed  the  purse  of  Fortunatus. 

There  is  a  story  about  him  which  would  be  incredible 
but  that  it  rests  on  good  authority.  One  day  some  one 
was  admiring  the  beauty  of  his  little  children,  and  he  was 
so  much  pleased  with  the  compliment  that  he  ordered 
them  to  be  weighed,  using  silver  coins  instead  of  ordinary 
weights,  and  then  scattered  the  money  among  the  crowd. 
And  this  was  when  the  whole  country  was  so  poor  that 
the  government  officers  scarcely  knew  how  to  find  the 
wherewithal  to  meet  the  common  expenses. 

In  addition  to  such  follies,  Henry  made  costly  expedi- 
tions into  France,  from  which  he  was  obliged  to  retreat 
with  loss  and  disgrace;  and  but  for  the  forbearance  of 
Louis  IX.  (called  St.  Louis),  he  would  have  lost  the  little 
French  territory  which  still  belonged  to  the  English. 
As  there  was  no  longer  any  hope  of  getting  money  legally, 
the  king  tried  a  new  plan.  He  "took  the  cross;"  that 
is,  he  made  a  vow  to  go  on  a  crusade;  and  for  this  pur- 
pose extorted  gifts  from  everybody,  especially  from  the 
Jews,  whom  he  plundered  without  mercy;  and  when  he 
had  collected  the  money  he  said  nothing  about  the  cru- 
sade, but  spent  it  as  before.  When  his  first  son  was  born 
he  sent  out  messengers  to  ask  for  gifts,  in  city  and  coun- 
try. "God  gives  us  the  child,"  said  some  one,  "but  the 
king  sells  him  to  us."  A  dozen  years  afterward  the  king 
himself  went  out  on  a  visiting  tour  and  begged  every- 
where for  money  from  the  people  who  entertained  him. 
When  these  methods  failed,  he  would  take  by  force  such 
provisions  and  other  things  as  he  needed  for  the  royal 
household,  without  paying  for  them;  and  his  judges  sat 
in  the  courts,  not  to  punish  crime,  but  to  raise  money. 


HENRY  III.       SIMON  DE  MONTFORT.  93 

Any  offender  could  buy  himself  off,  the  fine  being  in  pro- 
portion, not  to  the  offence,  but  to  the  amount  the  accused 
was  able  to  pay.  All  this  was  in  direct  violation  of  the 
Great  Charter,  in  which  the  king  was  made  to  say,  "We 
will  not  deny,  nor  delay,  nor  sell  justice  to  any  man." 
But  the  Charter  had  long  been  a  dead  letter. 

It  was  not  only  the  king  who  was  thus  robbing  the 
people  with  both  hands,  but  the  Pope.  The  latter,  tak- 
ing advantage  of  Henry's  weakness,  demanded  constantly 
more  and  more  tribute;  and  all  the  chief  offices  in  the 
Church  were  filled  with  Italians.  The  pontiff  also  offered 
a  tempting  bait  to  Henry  in  the  shape  of  the  crown  of 
Sicily,  which  he  gave  him — on  condition  of  his  winning 
it  for  himself.  The  king's  vanity  was  excited  by  the 
offer,  and  the  Pope  spent  millions  of  money  on  his  ac- 
count; but  the  crown  of  Sicily  was  as  far  off  as  ever. 
The  king  found  himself  saddled  with  an  immense  debt, 
and  as  every  other  means  of  raising  money  had  been  ex- 
hausted, he  was  obliged  once  more  to  have  recourse  to  a 
Parliament. 

The  Parliament  of  that  day  must  not  be  confused  with 
such  as  make  the  laws  for  England  now.  It  was  a  con- 
tinuation of  the  Saxon  "Witan,"and  was  composed  only 
of  nobles,  who  came  when  they  were  summoned  by  the 
king  and  were  dismissed  at  his  pleasure.  The  word  is  a 
French  one,  and  means  "talking." 

In  the  Parliament  now  called  by  Henry,  Simon  de 
Montfort,  Earl  of  Leicester  (son  to  that  other  Simon 
whose  crusade  against  the  Albigenses  had  been  such  a 
scandal  to  Christendom*),  proposed  a  new  government, 
having  nothing  to  do  with  the  king,  which  should  reform 

*  See  "A  Short  History  of  France, "  p.  77. 


94  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

all  abuses  and  restore  law  and  order  to  their  afflicted 
country.  The  assembly  intended  to  carry  out  these  plans 
met  at  Oxford,  and  was  called  in  derision  of  its  excited 
and  stormy  sessions  "The  Mad  Parliament."  De  Mont- 
fort,  supported  by  a  body  of  knights  in  full  armor,  was 
the  moving  spirit,  and  a  set  of  laws  proposed,  called  "The 
Provisions  of  Oxford,"  which  the  king,  as  well  as  the  bar- 
ons, swore  to  observe.  Henry  did  not  observe  them, 
and  things  went  on  from  bad  to  worse,  until  at  last  the 
two  parties  found  themselves  in  open  opposition.  The 
struggle  which  ensued  is  called  "The  Barons'  War." 

Prince  Edward,  Henry's  oldest  son  (afterward  King 
Edward  I.),  was  for  some  time  on  de  Montfort's  side} 
but  some  unreasonable  demands  of  the  barons  made  a 
coolness  between  them,  and  in  the  battle  which  followed 
they  were  on  opposite  sides.  This  battle  was  fought 
near  Lewes*  in  Sussex,  and  resulted  in  a  victory  for  the 
insurgents.  The  king,  Richard  Earl  of  Cornwall,  his 
brother,  and  Prince  Edward,  were  all  taken  prisoners. 
Henry  was  slightly  wounded  in  the  battle,  but  crying  out,. 
"I  am  Harry  of  Winchester,  your  king;  don't  kill  me!" 
was  spared  and  led  to  a  place  of  safety. 

An  agreement  was  entered  into  between  de  Montfort 
and  the  king's  party,  by  which  the  whole  matter  was 
referred  to  arbitration.  No  arbitration  was  attempted, 
however,  for  the  common  people  were  perfectly  satisfied 
with  the  government  of  "Sir  Simon  the  Righteous,"  as 
they  fondly  called  de  Montfort.  But  the  earl's  supporters 
among  the  nobility  grew  fewer  and  fewer.  They  were 
jealous  of  his  abilities  and  of  his  high  position,  and  when 
he  summoned  a  parliament  in  1265,  the  year  after  the 

•Pronounced  Lew-es. 


HENRY  HI.       SIMON  DE  MONTFORT.  95 

battle  of  Lewes,  only  twenty-three  barons  came  at  his 
call,  though  the  clergy  were  there  in  large  numbers.  De 
Montfort  then  conceived  the  brilliant  idea  of  appealing 
to  the  people,  as  it  would  be  called  now-a-days,  and  sent 
out  writs*  in  the  king's  name,  commanding  the  sheriffs  to 
hold  an  election  at  which  two  knights  from  each  county, 
two  citizens  from  each  city,  and  two  burgesses  from  each 
borough,  should  be  chosen  to  represent  the  people  of 
England.  Here  we  have  the  first  meeting  of  the  House 
of  Commons.  Since  that  time  the  Lords  and  the  Com- 
mons together  have  made  laws  for  England  under  the 
name  of  Parliament,  as  our  own  Senate  and  House  of 
Representatives  make  laws  for  us  under  the  name  of 
Congress.  Thus  the  first  truly  representative  body  of 
men  in  England  was  called  together  by  Simon  de  Mont- 
fort,  Earl  of  Leicester,  in  the  year  1265,  half  a  century 
after  the  signing  of  the  Great  Charter. 

But  the  great  leader  was  approaching  his  fall.  The 
nobles  dropped  away  from  him  and  ranged  themselves 
on  the  side  of  the  king's  party,  until  at  last  a  clever  strat- 
agem set  Prince  Edward  free.  The  Earl  of  Gloucester 
had  sent  him  a  present  of  a  fine  horse,  which,  as  he  was 
carefully  guarded,  no  one  objected  to  his  receiving.  He 
went  out  for  a  little  airing  on  his  new  horse,  and  asked 
the  soldiers  who  were  with  him  to  run  races  to  see  who 
was  the  best  mounted,  offering  to  bet  on  their  success. 
When  all  their  horses  were  thoroughly  tired,  he  put  spurs 
to  his  own  and  galloped  away  over  the  crest  of  a  hill  to 
where  a  small  body  of  his  friends  were  awaiting  him, 
while  the  guard  stood  stupidly  looking  on,  their  horses 

*The  writ  here  spoken  of  was  a  summons  to  attend  a  meeting 
of  Parliament. 


96  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

unable  to  follow  the  fresh,  fleet  one  which  Edward's 
friends  had  provided  for  him. 

It  did  not  take  the  prince  long  to  gather  an  army  which 
met  that  of  de  Montfort  at  Evesham  in  Worcestershire. 
When  the  latter  saw  in  what  good  order  his  enemies  ad- 
vanced, he  remarked,  "They  come  on  in  wise  fashion, 
but  it  was  from  me  they  learned  it."*  After  another  look 
he  exclaimed,  "Now  God  have  mercy  on  our  souls,  for 
our  bodies  are  the  prince's!"  The  battle  was  short  and 
sharp.  De  Montfort  and  his  son  Henry  were  killed,  and 
"The  Barons'  War"  was  over. 

But  little  remains  to  be  told  of  the  reign  of  Henry  III. 
His  son  Edward,  having  established  order  in  the  country, 
went  to  work  off  his  superfluous  energy  in  a  crusade,  the 
seventh,  and,  as  it  proved,  the  last,  of  these  ill-fated  and 
life-wasting  expeditions.  He  was  to  meet  Louis  IX.  of 
France  at  Tunis,  in  Africa,  and  go  with  him  to  Jerusalem, 
as  his  own  great-uncle,  Richard  Cceur  de  Lion,  had  gone 
with  Philip  Augustus,  Saint  Louis's  grandfather;  but  on 
arriving  at  Tunis  he  found  that  the  good  king  had  died 
some  time  before,  and  he  proceeded  on  his  journey 
alone  (1270).  Henry  died  (1272),  at  the  age  of  sixty- 
five.  His  is  next  to  the  longest  reign  in  English  history, 
having  lasted  from  the  death  of  King  John,  fifty-six  years. 

Though  the  years  since  Henry  had  grown  to  manhood 
had  been  marked  by  wretched  misrule,  yet  they  were 
years  in  which  the  English,  as. a  people,  were  making 
great  progress.  They  were  learning  the  value  of  self- 
government  and  of  resistance  to  tyranny,  and  no  future 
king  would  have  found  it  possible  to  resort  to  the  degrad- 

*So  Napoleon  remarked,  toward  the  end  of  his  career,  that  he 
had  taught  other  generals  to  beat  him. 


HENRY  III.       SIMON  DE  MONTFORT.  97 

ing  expedients  used  by  Henry  for  getting  money.  With 
the  admission  of  the  Commons  to  Parliament  came  an 
«ra  of  self-respect. 

To  do  King  Henry  justice;  with  all  his  weakness  and 
meanness  he  was  neither  cruel  nor  treacherous,  as  his 
father,  King  John,  had  been.  He  was  not  without  a  spice 
of  humor,  as  he  showed  when  -several  archbishops  and 
bishops  came  to  remonstrate  with  him  against  unlawfully 
raising  people  to  high  positions  in  the  Church.  "It  is 
true,"  said  he,  "I  have  been  faulty  in  that  respect.  I  ob- 
truded you,  my  lord  of  Canterbury,  upon  your  see;  I  was 
obliged  to  employ  both  threats  and  entreaties,  my  lord 
of  Winchester,  to  get  you  elected,  when  you  should  have 
been  sent  to  school :  my  proceedings  were  very  irregular 
and  violent,  my  lords  of  Salisbury  and  Carlisle,  when  I 
raised  you  from  the  lowest  stations  to  your  present  dig- 
nities. It  will  become  you,  therefore,  to  set  an  example 
of  reformation  by  resigning  your  present  places  and  try- 
ing to  get  advancement  in  a  more  regular  manner."  This 
anecdote  rests  on  the  authorship  of  Matthew  Paris,  who 
has  been  called  "The  last,  as  he  was  the  greatest,"  of 
the  monkish  historians.  Several  others  flourished  during 
this  century,  but  there  are  getting  to  be  too  many  of  them 
for  separate  mention. 

One  thing  we  have  to  remember  in  Henry's  favor;  it 
was  he  who  began  the  beautiful  Westminster  Abbey 
which  we  now  see.  The  Confessor's  church  had  mostly 
tumbled  to  pieces  by  that  time;  but  Henry  had  un- 
bounded veneration  for  the  original  builder,  whom  he 
adopted  as  his  patron  saint,  and  for  whose  mouldering 
relics  he  wished  to  provide  a  suitable  shrine.  The  Abbey 
was  not  finished  in  his  day  nor  for  many  years  afterward; 
7 


98  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

but  it  must  have  afforded  him  great  satisfaction  to  see  its 
graceful  proportions  beginning  to  take  shape  in  solid 
stone. 

Although  it  is  impossible  to  give  the  names  of  many- 
writers  within  the  narrow  limits  of  our  history,  we  must 
find  room  for  that  of  Roger  Bacon,  who  was  in  some  re- 
spects the  most  wonderful  man  of  his  age.  He  was  the 
first  man  of  science  that  England  produced,  and  his  dis- 
coveries, without  the  means  of  knowledge  which  now 
can  be  had  by  any  school-boy,  show  how  genius,  aided  by- 
industry  and  perseverance,  can  make  its  way  in  spite  of 
hindrance.  Do  not  confound  this  Bacon,  who  was  a. 
humble  monk,  with  the  brilliant  philosopher  of  Queen 
Elizabeth's  day.  They  lived  three  hundred  years  apart; 
but  any  century  and  any  country  might  be  proud  of  a 
man  like  either  of  the  renowned  Bacons. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

EDWARD    I.    CONQUEROR   OF   WALES. 

JHEN  King  Henry  died,  the  Parliament  went 
through  the  form  of  electing  his  son.  The 
latter  had  arrived  in  Sicily  on  his  way  home, 
when  the  news  of  his  father's  death  reached  him ;  and  he 
was  in  so  little  haste  to  take  possession  of  his  inheritance 
that  he  spent  more  than  a  year  traveling  in  Italy  and 
France  before  again  setting  foot  on  his  native  land. 

His  crusade  had  not  been  a  successful  one.     Landing 
at  the  city  of  Acre,  the  only  one  that  remained  of  all  the 


EDWARD  /.,   CONQUEROR    OF   WALES.  99 

Christian  possessions  in  Palestine,  he  fought  some  battles, 
took  Nazareth,  and  performed  wonders  in  the  way  of  per- 
sonal prowess;  but  beyond  that,  there  was  nothing  to  be 
done.  He  was  accompanied  by  his  devoted  queen, 
Eleanor  of  Castile,  to  whom  he  had  been  married  for 
many  years.  He  had  one  adventure,  according  to  the 
old  chronicles,  almost  worth  going  to  Syria  for.  While 
reclining  one  day  in  his  tent  just  recovering  from  a  fit  of 
illness,  a  messenger  came  with  a  letter  from  the  Sultan 
Saladin,  his  foe;  a  descendant,  probably,  of  the  chivalrous 
adversary  of  Richard  I.  As  Edward  took  the  letter  the 
man  stabbed  him  with  a  dagger,  meaning  to  pierce  his 
heart,  but  only  wounding  him  in  the  arm.  Edward  was 
not  so  ill  but  that  he  sprang  from  his  couch,  seized  the 
three-legged  stool  on  which  his  tumbler  of  cooling  drink 
was  standing,  and  with  it  beat  out  the  brains  of  the  cow- 
ardly assassin.  Fearing  that  the  dagger  had  been  poi- 
soned, Queen  Eleanor  dropped  on  her  knees  at  the  bed- 
side and  sucked  the  blood  from  the  wound.  No  evil 
effects  followed,  and  the  memory  of  Edward's  "chere 
rcgne"*  as  he  called  her,  has  always  since  been  loved  and 
honored  by  the  English  people. 

Edward  was  thirty-four  years  old  and  in  the  prime  of 
manly  vigor  when  he  arrived  in  England.  He  was  tall 
and  slender,  but  very  strong,  and  received  the  nickname 
of  Longshanks,  from  the  length  of  his  legs.  A  more 
honorable  addition  to  his  name  was  that  of  "The  Eng- 
lish Justinian. "t  After  his  coronation  he  spent  some 
time  in  establishing  law  and  order  throughout  his  domin- 

*  Beloved  queen. 

t  In  allusion  to  a  Roman  emperor  who  prepared  and  enacted  a 
grand  code  of  laws. 


100  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

ions,  and  then  his  active  mind  began  to  seek  for  some 
more  exciting  occupation.  This  was  furnished  him  by 
events  which  occurred  in  Wales. 

Wales,  as  you  remember,  is  the  country  where  the  Brit- 
ons took  refuge  when  the  devouring  Saxons  descended 
upon  them.  King  Arthur  is  the  last  of  their  princes  to 
appear  on  the  page  of  history  until  the  time  of  Edward 
I.  of  England,  when  Llewellyn,  at  that  time  Prince  of 
Wales,  refused  to  come  before  the  English  king  and  pay 
the  customary  homage.  Having  repeatedly  summoned 
him  to  do  so,  Edward  marched  into  his  country,  and  after 
several  years  of  fighting,  Llewellyn,  who  had  in  him  all 
the  proud  spirit  of  the  ancient  Britons,  his  ancestors,  was 
killed  in  battle.  Edward  then  declared  the  country  to 
be  part  of  England,  and  when  David,  Llewellyn's  brother, 
continued  the  war  and  was  betrayed  into  the  hands  of 
the  English,  he  was  hanged  as  a  traitor.  With  him  per- 
ished the  last  spark  of  Welsh  independence. 

Edward  showed  a  haughty  and  vindictive  spirit  by 
causing  the  head  of  the  unfortunate  Llewellyn  to  be  cut 
off  and  placed  on  the  Tower  of  London  with  an  ivy- 
wreath  on  it,  in  allusion  to  an  old  Welsh  prophecy  which 
said  that  Wales  should  never  be  conquered  until  a  prince 
of  that  country  should  be  crowned  in  London.  However 
strongly  we  may  condemn  Edward's  action,  we  can  not 
deny  that  the  conquest  was  of  great  benefit  to  the  Welsh, 
who  were  still  a  semi-barbarous  nation,  and  who  by  being 
gradually  assimilated  to  the  English,  made  great  strides 
in  prosperity  and  civilization. 

A  horrible  story  to  the  effect  that  Edward  ordered  a 
general  massacre  of  the  bards,  or  poets,  of  Wales,  because 
he  thought  that  they  encouraged  their  countrymen  to  re- 


EDWARD  /.,   CONQUEROR   OF   WALES.         101 

bellion,  was  long  believed  in  England,  and  has  only  lately 
been  received  as  what  it  is,  a  tale  of  romance.  The  poet 
Gray,  however,  who  lived  in  the  eighteenth  century,  has 
made  the  old  tradition  the  foundation  for  his  grandest 
poem,  "The  Bard." 

Some  time  after  the  close  of  the  war,  the  Welsh  ur- 
gently demanded  of  Edward  a  prince  of  their  own  nation. 
They  were  not  satisfied  to  be  a  part  of  England,  and 
thought  that  if  they  had  another  prince,  who  would  pay 
the  desired  homage,  all  might  go  on  as  before.  Edward 
never  had  the  least  idea  of  gratifying  them  in  this,  but  he 
put  them  off  by  promising  them  a  prince  born  in  their 
own  country,  who  could  speak  no  English.  They  were 
much  pleased  with  this,  and  when  the  king  soon  after- 
ward appeared  on  a  balcony  of  Caernarvon  Castle  in 
Wales,  holding  his  new-born  son  in  his  arms,  and  told 
them  here  was  a  prince  for  them  born  in  their  own  coun- 
try who  could  speak  no  English  (and  he  might  have  added 
"nor  any  other  language")  they  could  only  laugh  and 
make  the  best  of  it.  From  that  day  to  this  the  oldest  son 
of  the  English  sovereign  has  borne  the  title  of  Prince  of 
Wales. 

A  cruel  persecution  of  the  Jews  stains  the  annals  of 
Edward  I.'s  reign.  They  were  accused,  truly  or  falsely, 
of  clipping  the  coin;*  this  was  made  a  capital  offence, 
and  as  the  mere  possession  of  a  clipped  coin  was  consid- 
ered a  proof  of  guilt,  280  Jews  were  hanged  in  one  year 
in  London  alone,  as  being  guilty  of  that  crime.  Some 
years  after  this,  the  whole  Jewish  population  was  thrown 

*  It  was  the  custom,  for  convenience,  to  cut  silver  coins  into  halves 
and  quarters,  there  being  no  small  silver  currency;  it  was  therefore 
easy  for  evil-disposed  persons  to  clip  a  fragment  from  each  piece. 


102  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

into  prison,  under  pretext  of  a  crime  said  to  have  been 
committed  by  one  of  their  nation,  and  were  only  released 
on  payment  of  a  fine  of  ^12.000.  At  last,  after  another 
interval,  the  whole  race  was  banished  from  the  kingdom 
(1290).  Their  lands  and  houses  were  forfeited  to  the 
crown,  but  they  were  allowed  to  carry  away  their  money 
and  jewels,  which  proved  so  great  a  temptation  to  the 
sailors  that  many  Jews  were  murdered  for  these  before 
reaching  a  foreign  shore.  Jews  were  not  permitted  to  live 
again  in  England  for  nearly  three  hundred  years. 

We  come  now  to  what  occupied  the  last  fifteen  years 
of  Edward's  reign,  his  quarrel  with  Scotland;  but  before 
beginning  on  this,  we  must  go  back  to  an  earlier  period 
to  explain  the  state  of  affairs  there. 

Alexander  III.,  king  of  Scotland,  a  descendant  of  Mal- 
colm and  the  Saxon  princess  Margaret,  had  seen  all  his 
children  die  before  him.  There  was  not  even  a  grand- 
child living  except  one  little  girl  named  Margaret,  the 
child  of  his  daughter  Margaret,  who  had  married  the 
Prince  of  Norway.  This  child  was  called  "The  Maid  of 
Norway;"  and  at  the  death  of  her  grandfather  Alexander, 
she  was  sent  for  to  be  queen  of  Scotland.  Edward  I.  had 
a  plan  for  marrying  her  to  his  son,  the  Prince  of  Wales, 
but  before  the  poor  little  thing  could  reach  Scotland  she 
was  taken  ill,  and  died  on  one  of  the  Orkney  Islands.  If 
the  marriage  had  taken  place  it  would  have  prevented  a 
long  and  bloody  war,  and  hundreds  of  years  of  ill-feeling 
between  the  two  nations;  but  things  turned  out  otherwise. 

The  Scottish  people  were  in  great  perplexity.  A  king 
they  must  have,  for  nobody  thought  of  doing  without  one 
in  those  days;  and  the  only  persons  available  for  the 
office  were  those  who  were  descended  from  the  three 


EDWARD  /.,   CONQUEROR    OF   WALES.          103 

daughters  of  David,  Earl  of  Huntington,  brother  of  Wil- 
liam the  Lion.  Lord  Hastings,  who  was  son  of  the 
youngest  sister,  saw  that  he  had  no  chance,  and  withdrew 
from  the  competition,  leaving  two  candidates,  John  Baliol 
and  Robert  Bruce,*  between  whom  it  was  necessary  to 
make  a  choice.  Each  side  had  sturdy  partisans,  and 
rather  than  go  to  war  about  it,  both  parties  agreed  to 
ieave  the  matter  to  Edward  and  abide  by  his  decision. 
Edward  willingly  accepted  the  office  of  arbiter,  but  ham- 
pered his  acceptance  with  a  condition  very  different  from 
what  the  Scots  expected.  He  demanded  to  be  received  as 
over-lord  (lord  paramount)  of  Scotland;  in  other  words, 
whoever  was  chosen  king  must  do  homage  to  him  for  the 
•whole  of  Scotland.  It  had  for  a  long  time  been  recog- 
nized that  the  king  of  England  had  rights  over  certain 
districts  there  —  Strathclyde,  for  instance,  in  the  south- 
western part,  which  was  granted  to  them  by  Edward  the 
Elder;  but  this  demand  was  unprecedented.  They  saw 
that  they  were  in  Edward's  power.  To  refuse  to  accept 
his  arbitration  on  his  own  terms  would  be  to  make  an 
-enemy  of  him,  which  they  could  ill  afford  to  do,  and  would 
also  be  likely  to  plunge  them  into  civil  war.  The  Scott- 
ish council  consented  to  his  condition  and  Baliol  and 
Bruce  each  solemnly  swore  that  if  he  should  be  the 
chosen  one  it  should  be  as  Edward's  "man,"  bound  to 
•do  homage  to  him  for  the  kingdom  of  Scotland. 

Edward,  acting  on  a  principle  of  hereditary  right  now 
universally  agreed  to,  decided  that  Baliol,  being  in  direct 
descent  from  David  of  Huntington's  oldest  daughter,  was 
the  rightful  heir  to  the  crown.  The  Scottish  people 

*  Not  the  Robert  Bruce  about  whom  so  many  romantic  stories  are 
told,  but  his  grandfather. 


104  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

accepted  his  decision  without  question,  and  Baliol  was 
crowned  at  Scone,  on  the  old  stone  always  used  for  the 
coronation  of  Scottish  kings,  and  which,  afterward  carried 
to  England  by  Edward,  still  forms  part  of  the  English 
throne  in  Westminster  Abbey.* 

When  Edward  went  to  Scotland  the  first  time  after  this 
matter  was  settled,  he  arranged  that  his  queen  should 
follow  him  there.  She  set  out  to  do  so,  but  died  on  the 
way;  and  Edward,  in  the  deepest  grief,  at  once  moved 
southward  to  accompany  her  body  to  its  tomb  in  West- 
minster Abbey.  At  each  place  where  the  funeral  pro- 
cession rested  for  a  night  on  the  way,  he  caused  a  beauti- 
ful stone  cross  to  be  erected  in  memory  of  her.  The  one 
in  London  was  at  the  place  now  called  Charing  Cross, 
(though  the  cross  itself  was  long  ago  pulled  down),  and 
the  word  Charing  is  said  to  be  a  corruption  of  the  French 
word  "Chere  regne" — Edward's  dear  queen. 

There  are  but  two  of  the  thirteen  crosses  left  now, 
those  at  Wolverhampton  and  Waltham;  but  no  stone 
monument  is  needed  to  keep  fresh  in  English  hearts  the 
memory  of  the  beloved  Eleanor  of  Castile. 

While  the  negotiations  were  still  going  on  with  Scot- 
land, Edward  became  involved,  quite  unexpectedly,  in  a 
war  with  France  (1293)  which  had  in  the  end  some  bear- 
ing on  the  relations  with  the  northern  country.  The 
original  cause  of  quarrel  was  slight — only  a  fight  between 
an  English  and  a  Norman  crew  who  came  to  fill  their 
water  casks  at  the  same  well  near  Bayonne  in  France. 

*  An  old  legend  claimed  it  ns  the  stone  which  formed  Jacob's  pil- 
low at  Bethel.  A  modern  saying  is,  that  wherever  that  stone  lies, 
there  Scotland  rules;  apropose  to  which  it  is  remarked  that  many 
English  ministers  are  of  Scottish  blood,  Gladstone  among  the  rest. 


EDWARD  /.,    CONQUEROR   OF   WALES.         105 

_A  Norman  was  killed  in  the  scuffle;  and,  the  incident 
being  noised  abroad,  other  sailors  took  up  the  quarrel, 
and  English  and  Norman  vessels  could  not  meet  at  sea 
without  doing  some  mischief  to  one  another.  The  Chan- 
nel became  the  scene  of  continual  acts  of  piracy;  and 
at  last  a  Norman  fleet  of  two  hundred  vessels  was  at- 
tacked by  an  English  fleet  of  eighty,  or,  as  some  writers 
say,  only  sixty  ships  (it  is  the  English  who  are  telling  the 
story!),  and  almost  entirely  destroyed.  In  consequence 
of  this,  Philip  IV.,  the  king  of  France,  summoned  Ed- 
ward (who  as  Duke  of  Guienne  was  Philip's  vassal),  to 
answer  for  the  misdeeds  of  his  sailors.  Edward  declined 
to  go,  but  sent  his  brother  as  deputy.  To  him  Philip 
proposed  that  he  should  give  up  Guienne  for  forty  days, 
merely  as  a  matter  of  form,  and  let  him  put  French  sol- 
diers into  the  garrisons  during  that  time.  The  simple- 
minded  deputy  readily  agreed  to  this,  but  he  trusted  to 
Philip's  honor,  a  quality  unknown  to  the  French  king. 
Guienne  was  not  restored ;  Edward  invaded  it,  and  there 
was  some  fierce  fighting  done.  For  a  long  time  victory 
was  doubtful;  the  province  was  taken  and  retaken,  and 
at  last,  many  years  after  the  two  parties  of  sailors  had 
quarrelled  as  to  which  should  drink  first  at  the  crystal 
spring,  Guienne  was  formally  restored  to  England. 

The  most  important  result  of  this  war  was  the  alliance 
formed  between  France  and  Scotland,  secret  at  first,  but 
openly  acknowledged  at  a  later  time.  For  centuries  after- 
ward, a  common  hatred  of  England  joined  in  close  friend- 
ship two  nations  entirely  unlike  in  position,  language, 
and  modes  of  feeling,  against  another  which  should  have 
been  the  natural  ally  of  its  nearest  neighbor. 


108  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

CHAPTER   XIII. 

THE   WAR   WITH    SCOTLAND. 

T  might  be  thought  that  with  the  recognition 
of  John  Baliol  as  king  of  Scotland,  all  trouble 
would  have  been  at  an  end ;  but  such  was 
not  the  case.  Edward  repeatedly  summoned  Baliol  to 
London  to  answer  for  certain  legal  decisions  with  which 
England  had  nothing  to  do,  and  which  it  was  within  the 
province  of  the  Scots  to  settle  as  they  pleased.  He 
refused  to  permit  Baliol  to  appear  by  deputy,  as  he 
himself  had  done  when  summoned  in  a  similar  case  to 
Guienne ;  and  when  the  Scottish  king  obeyed  the  call, 
treated  him  with  such  insolence  that  Baliol,  though  a 
mild-tempered  man  and  not  very  tenacious  of  his  dignity, 
could  endure  it  no  longer.  He  refused  to  attend  an 
English  Parliament  to  which  Edward  summoned  him, 
and  the  English  king  instantly  marched  upon  the  Scot- 
tish town  of  Berwick  *  and  took  it  with  brutal  cruelty. 
The  inhabitants,  to  the  number  of  eight  thousand,  were 
massacred  in  the  streets;  and  a  few  Flemish  mer- 
chants, who  were  bravely  defending  themselves  in  the 
Town  Hall,  were  burned  alive  in  it.  Here  Edward 
received  a  message  from  Baliol  renouncing  his  allegiance 
to  him,  upon  which  he  exclaimed:  "The  felon  fool! 
If  he  will  not  come  to  us  we  will  go  to  him  ! "  and  imme- 
diately marched  northward  through  Scotland,  taking  the 
principal  cities  on  the  way.  Dunbar  and  Edinburgh 
made  a  brave  stand,  but  at  Stirling  Edward  found  that 

*  Pronounced  ' '  Berrick. " 


THE    WAR   WITH  SCOTLAND.  107 

*'  the  garrison  had  run  away,  leaving  none  but  the  porter, 
•which  did  render  the  keys."  He  was  determined  to 
make  thorough  work  of  it,  and,  the  chronicler  says, 
41  went  himself  into  desolate  places  where  there  was  no 
more  than  three  houses  in  a  row  between  two  moun- 
tains." He  returned  to  Berwick,  ''having  conquered 
and  searched  the  kingdom  of  Scotland,  as  is  aforesaid, 
in  twenty-one  weeks  without  any  more."  Baliol  gave 
himself  up  and  was  taken  prisoner  to  England.  Here 
he  was  kept  for  two  years,  and  was  then  allowed  to  go 
to  France,  where  he  ended  his  life  in  peaceful  obscurity. 

It  has  been  commonly  said  that  Scotland  has  never 
been  conquered.  Permanently,  it  never  has  been  so  ; 
but,  for  the  time,  it  was  as  much  a  possession  of  the 
English  crown  as  Normandy  was  a  possession  of  the 
Icing  of  France.  The  country  was  in  Edward's  hands ; 
an  English  governor  and  his  council  took  the  place 
of  the  Scottish  king  and  his  nobles,  and  every  fortress 
had  an  English  garrison.  But  this  did  not  last  long. 
In  the  breasts  of  the  Scottish  people  still  burned  the  fire 
of  national  freedom,  and  an  army  of  husbandmen,  under 
the  leadership  of  William  Wallace,  gave  a  check  to 
English  dominion  from  which  it  never  fully  recovered. 

In  Wallace  himself  we  have  again  the  right  man  for 
the  right  time.  Very  little  is  known  of  him  personally, 
though  we  feel  so  well  acquainted  with  him  as  the  hero 
of  Miss  Porter's  novel,  "The  Scottish  Chiefs,"  that  we 
may  be  excused  for  sometimes  confusing  romance  and 
history.  But  it  is  certain  that  his  great  heart  beat  only 
for  his  country ;  and  that  he  looked  for  his  supporters, 
not  among  nobles  and  men  of  renown,  who  fought  for 
glory  and  the  love  of  adventure,  but  among  the  Scottish 


108  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

peasants,  who  had  little  to  lose  but  liberty.  Wallace 
sought  nothing  for  himself;  he  had  not,  as  far  as  we  can 
see,  any  special  interest  in  Bruce,  who,  after  Baliol's 
death,  was  recognized  by  the  Scottish  party  as  king ;  he 
was  only  determined  that  his  country  should  be  free. 
He  was  cruel  in  war,  as  were  all  the  military  captains  of 
that  day.  None  of  them,  except  perhaps  Saint  Louis, 
had  learned  that,  though  war  may  be  necessary  to  enforce 
the  right,  revenge  is  always  barbarous.  All  we  can  say 
of  him  is  that  in  this  respect  he  did  not  rise  above  the 
spirit  of  the  time. 

The  first  great  battle  between  the  two  nations  was 
fought  near  Stirling.  The  English  governor  of  Scotland, 
Earl  Warrenne,  who  was  in  command,  sent  to  offer  terms 
of  peace ;  but  Wallace  uttered  the  feeling  of  his  whole 
army  when  he  answered  :  "  We  have  not  come  here  for 
peace,  but  to  free  our  country."  By  choosing  his  ground 
skilfully,  he  defeated  the  enemy  with  great  slaughter,  and 
the  spirits  of  his  party  rose  accordingly.  Among  the 
slain  was  Cressingham,  the  treasurer  of  England,  to- 
whom  the  Scots  bore  such  hatred  that  they  cut  his  skin 
into  strips  and  made  bridles  of  it.  It  was  the  ferocity  of 
a  barbarous  age,  and  in  French  history,  as  late  as  the 
following  century,  we  find  a  similar  incident.* 

Edward  now  concentrated  his  forces  at  Falkirk.  His 
sixty  years  had  not  taken  away  his  strength  nor  dulled 
his  vigor ;  and  though  he  broke  two  of  his  ribs  the  night 
before  the  battle,  he  fought  on  just  the  same.  Wallace, 
on  his  part,  was  prepared  for  a  desperate  struggle.  He 
said  to  his  men  :  "  I  have  brought  you  to  the  ring ;  now 
hop  (dance)  if  you  can  ! "  They  could  not  hop  to  the 

*  See  "A  Short  History  of  France,"  p.  130. 


THE   WAR   WITH  SCOTLAND.  109 

same  tune  that  the  English  did;  they  were  defeated, 
with  the  loss  of  fifteen  thousand  men,  and  Wallace,  after 
fighting  until  most  of  his  friends  had  fallen,  fled  for  his 
life. 

For  several  years  we  hear  but  little  more  of  him. 
He  kept  up  a  straggling  partisan  warfare,  much  like  that 
in  the  Carolinas  during  our  Revolution,  doing  what  harm 
he  could  without  bringing  his  little  band  into  danger  of 
capture;  but  at  last  he  was  basely  betrayed  into  Edward's 
hands,  taken  to  London,  and  there  executed  for  treason, 
according  to  the  barbarous  provisions  of  English  law 
(1305).*  When  charged  with  the  crime,  he  answered: 
"Traitor  I  can  not  be,  for  I  was  never  a  subject  to  the 
king  of  England ; "  but  he  was  too  dangerous  an  enemy 
to  be  spared  when  he  was  once  in  Edward's  power. 
The  king  has  been  severely  blamed  for  his  execution ; 
but  we  must  remember  that,  to  Edward,  Wallace  was 
like  any  other  rebel,  an  enemy  to  be  got  rid  of  at  any 
-cost;  and  that  the  halo  of  patriotism  which  centuries 
have  thrown  so  brightly  around  his  head  was  not  visible 
to  his  foe,  who  saw  in  him  only  a  mischievous  disturber 
of  the  peace. 

The  Scottish  and  French  wars  could,  of  course,  be 
carried  on  only  at  an  enormous  expense,  and  with  money 
England  was  poorly  provided.  The  king,  who  was  too 
proud  to  appeal  to  Parliament,  tried  in  all  sorts  of  ways 

*  The  prisoner  was  hanged  enough  to  choke,  but  not  to  kill  him  ; 
then  his  heart  was  cut  out  of  his  body  and  thrown  on  a  fire  already 
kindled  for  the  purpose.  The  head  was  set  up  where  it  could  be 
seen  by  as  many  persons  as  possible,  and  the  rest  of  the  body,  cut 
into  quarters,  was  shown  in  different  places.  This  continued  to  be 
done  in  cases  of  treason  down  to  the  middle  of  the  i8th  century. 


110  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

to  get  what  he  needed.  He  asked  the  clergy  for  contri- 
butions; they  resisted.  He  levied  taxes  by  his  own  au- 
thority, on  wool  and  hides.  That  on  wool  was  known  as 
"The  Evil  Toll."  Some  of  his  principal  nobles  warned 
the  sheriffs  to  collect  no  more  taxes  until  the  charters 
had  been  confirmed  by  Edward.  So,  after  struggling  for 
a  while  to  get  his  own  way,  and  finding  that  though  he 
was  resolute,  the  people  were  so  also,  he  gave  up  grace- 
fully, called  a  Parliament,  saying  that  "what  concerns  all 
should  be  approved  by  all,"  and  thus  established  the 
great  principle  that  the  people  of  England  can  not  be 
taxed  except  by  their  own  consent  (1297).  We  applied 
the  same  principle  to  ourselves  in  our  Revolution;  it  cost 
ns  a  bloody  struggle,  but  we  won  in  the  end.  Thus  out  of 
evil  came  good,  for  Edward  would  never  have  consented 
so  to  limit  his  own  power  if  he  had  not  been  hard  pressed 
by  Scotland  on  one  side  and  France  on  the  other. 

It  is  amusing  to  be  told,  in  connection  with  the  new 
Parliament  formed  of  Lords  and  Commons  together,  that 
serving  in  it  was  expensive  and  unpopular;  and  that  it 
was  often  the  custom  of  the  Commons,  when  they  had 
voted  the  money  required,  to  break  up  their  part  of  the 
assembly  and  go  home,  leaving  the  laws  to  be  made  by 
the  lords.  It  took  a  long  time  to  educate  the  people  up 
to  their  privileges. 

Edward  never  gave  up  trying  to  conquer  Scotland. 
The  first  Robert  Bruce  had  been  dead  for  some  years; 
his  son,  the  second  Robert,  died  in  the  same  year  with 
Wallace,  and  we  now  come  to  the  well-known  Robert 
Bruce,  who  began  his  public  career  by  an  act  of  murder 
and  sacrilege.  At  twenty-three  years  old  he  was  a  soldier 
in  Edward's  army,  and  was  undecided,  when  his  father 


THE   WAR   WITH  SCOTLAND.  Ill 

died,  whether  it  would  be  best  for  him  to  continue  a 
peaceful  subject  of  England  or  to  renew  the  old  claim  of 
his  family  to  the  Scottish  throne.  The  latter  meant  war 
to  the  knife  with  Edward,  for  the  Baliol  family  were 
under  his  protection.  Just  at  this  time  Bruce  met  John 
Comyn,  BalioPs  nephew  (called  "The  Red  Comyn"),  in 
a  church,  and  while  disputing  with  him  about  their  respec- 
tive claims,  drew  his  dagger  and  plunged  it  into  Comyn's 
body.  It  was  a  wicked  deed,  but  it  was  done,  and  nothing 
was  left  for  Bruce  but  to  brave  it  out  as  best  he  could. 
Gathering  together  as  many  of  his  friends  as  he  could 
muster  at  short  notice,  he  went  secretly  to  Scone  to  re- 
ceive his  title  of  king  in  due  form.  It  had  always  been 
the  privilege  of  the  Earls  of  Fife  to  place  the  crown  upon 
their  sovereign's  head.  It  was  fortunate  for  Bruce  that 
the  earl  of  his  time  was  absent,  for  he  was  a  friend  of  the 
English ;  so  the  ceremony  was  performed  by  Fife's  sister, 
the  Countess  of  Buchan.  Edward  had  carried  off  to 
England  not  only  the  coronation  stone,  but  the  royal 
robes  and  crown  jewels.  Friends,  however,  supplied 
what  was  needed,  and  Robert  I.  was  declared  king  of 
Scotland.  "Now  you  are  queen  and  I  am  king,"  he  said 
proudly  to  his  wife  after  their  coronation.  "I'm  afraid 
we  are  only  playing  at  being  king  and  queen,  like  chil- 
dren," answered  the  more  prudent  Mary.  It  was  not  long 
before  they  were  separated.  The  wife  was  taken  pris- 
oner, and  eight  long  years  passed  before  they  met  again. 
Edward's  anger  at  this  act  may  be  imagined.  Every 
one  who  had  had  anything  to  do  with  crowning  Bruce 
was  punished  if  it  was  possible  to  get  at  him;  even  the 
Countess  of  Buchan  was  captured  and  exhibited  in  a 
cage  at  Berwick,  while  Bruce's  sister  suffered  the  same 


112  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

indignity  at  Roxburgh.  After  a  battle,  in  which  Bruce 
was  defeated,  he  fled  to  the  mountains,  and  as  many  of 
his  followers  as  were  taken  suffered  death.* 

Once  more  Edward  set  out  for  Scotland,  determined 
this  time  to  put  an  end  to  Bruce  and  his  pretensions,  but 
his  strength  was  not  equal  to  the  effort,  and  he  died  at 
Burgh-on-the-Sands.  within  sight  of  the  Scottish  shore. 
He  was  in  the  sixty -eighth  year  of  his  age,  and  had 
reigned  thirty-five  years. 

Edward  I.  was  unquestionably  a  great  man.  His  worst 
fault  was  ambition,  which,  in  the  matter  of  the  Scottish 
war,  turned  to  absolute  hatred  of  those  who  opposed 
him.  In  Westminster  Abbey  you  can  still  read  the  in- 
scription placed  there  by  his  order:  "Edward  I.  The 
Hammer  of  the  Scots.  Keep  Covenant."t 

In  enforcing  law  and  order  his  course  recalled  the  days 
of  Henry  Plantagenet.  Like  him,  he  came  after  a  time* 
of  fearful  misrule,  when  neither  life  nor  property  was  safe, 
and  he  established  such  order,  and  was  so  well  known 
for  his  stern  justice,  that  the  thieves  and  highwaymen 
who  had  been  in  the  habit  of  going  about  in  armed  bands, 
found  it  best  to  follow  some  other  kind  of  business.  One 

*  The  famous  story  of  Bruce  and  the  spider  belongs  to  this  period. 
It  is  said  that  Bruce,  disheartened  by  a  long  succession  of  misfort- 
unes, was  lying  in  a  wretched  hut  and  wondering  whether  it  was 
worth  while  to  keep  up  his  efforts,  when  he  saw  a  spider  who  was 
trying  to  fasten  the  first  thread  of  her  web  to  a  beam  in  the  ceiling. 
Six  times  she  failed  and  fell  back  again,  Bruce  watching  her,  mean- 
while, with  intense  interest.  The  seventh  time  she  succeeded  in 
fastening  the  thread;  and  the  weary  king,  determined  not  to  be  out- 
done by  a  poor  insect,  decided  to  make  one  more  trial.  After  this 
he  was  successful. 

t  Edwardus  Primus.     Malleus  Scotorum.     Pactum  Serva. 


THE   WAR   WITH  SCOTLAND.  113 

of  the  laws  passed  during  this  reign  throws  a  strong  light 
on  some  dangers  of  the  time.  No  hedges,  woods,  or 
shrubbery,  nothing,  in  short,  except  large  trees,  was  to  be 
allowed  within  two  hundred  feet  of  a  public  highway,  on 
either  side  of  the  road.  If  the  owner  of  the  property, 
(a  "lord"  of  it  as  he  is  called  in  the  Act),  does  not  clear 
away  the  shelter  for  thieves  thus  described,  he  is  to  be 
made  answerable  for  any  robbery  committed  there. 

The  strength  of  Edward  I.'s  character  is  all  the  more 
noticeable  because  he  comes  between  a  weak  father  and 
an  indolent,  pleasure -loving  son.  The  contrast  is  sharp 
and  painful. 

It  was  in  Edward's  reign  that  the  celebrated  statute  of 
•"Mortmain"  was  enacted.  The  practice  of  leaving  prop- 
erty by  will  to  the  church  had  become  a  source  of  loss  to 
the  king  because  property  so  left  fell  into  an  ownership 
which  could  not  die,  which  therefore  might  hold  it  for- 
ever, while  in  all  other  cases  it  must  fall  into  new  hands 
at  the  end  of  each  owner's  life  if  not  oftener;  and  if  there 
were  no  other  claimant,  it  fell  to  the  crown.  The  un- 
broken grasp  of  the  church  was  likened  to  that  of  a  dead 
hand — "  morte  -  main. " 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

EDWARD    II.       BANNOCKBURN. 

HE  last  instructions  of  Edward  I.  to  his  son  the 
Prince  of  Wales,  then  twenty-three  years  old, 
were  that  he  should  not  recall  Piers  Gaveston, 
a  young  Frenchman   from   Gascony  who  had  already 
8 


114  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

brought  the  prince  more  than  once  into  trouble,  and  that 
he  should,  on  peril  of  his  father's  curse,  carry  his  bones 
(i.  e.,  his  body)  with  him  into  Scotland,  and  never  bring 
them  back  until  that  country  was  conquered.  Edward 
II.,  as  disobedient  to  his  father  after  his  death  as  he  had 
been  during  his  life,  instantly  recalled  the  unworthy  favor- 
ite, sent  his  father's  corpse  back  to  Westminster  to  be 
buried,  and  having  marched  the  army  laboriously  col- 
lected by  Edward  I.,  a  few  miles  into  Scotland,  disbanded 
it  and  returned  to  England.  Gaveston  soon  became  his- 
only  companion  and  counsellor,  all  Edward  I.'s  ministers 
being  dismissed  with  scorn.  Edward  disgusted  his  fath- 
er's friends  still  more  by  giving  his  own  niece  in  marriage 
to  Gaveston,  and  by  making  him  guardian  of  the  kingdom 
when  he  himself  went  to  France  to  celebrate  his  marriage 
with  Isabella,  daughter  of  Philip  the  Fair.  There  was. 
no  end  to  the  favorite's  insolence  and  the  king's  folly. 
Gaveston  thought  it  very  witty  to  call  the  haughty  Eng- 
lish gentlemen  by  absurd  names.  The  Earl  of  Lancaster^ 
the  king's  cousin,  was,  in  his  elegant  language,  "the  old 
hog,"*  or  sometimes,  "the  play-actor."  Aymar  de  Val- 
ence, Earl  of  Pembroke,  who  had  a  dark  complexion,  was 
nicknamed  "Joseph  the  Jew;"  and  the  Earl  of  Warwick 
became  "the  black  dog  of  Ardennes."  Warwick  said  he 
would  teach  him  that  the  dog  could  show  his  teeth;  and 
every  one  of  these  men  was  resolved  upon  his  ruin. 

By  the  time  the  king  returned  from  France  after  his- 
marriage  the  discontent  had  grown  to  fury.  There  is  an 
old  proverb  which  says,  "Whom  the  gods  would  destroy, 
they  first  make  mad;"  and  the  two  young  men  were  ex- 

*  In  allusion  to  the  boar's  head  which  appeared  on  the  earl's 
escutcheon. 


EDWARD  II.       BANNOCKBURN.  115 

arnples  of  it.  When  King  Edward  first  met  his  favorite, 
in  the  presence  of  a  crowd  of  high-born  guests  come 
together  to  pay  their  respects  to  the  young  queen,  he  and 
Gaveston  flew  into  one  another's  arms  and  embraced  like 
school-girls,  forgetful  of  the  presence  of  any  one  else.  As 
soon  as  possible  Edward  made  a  present  to  Gaveston  of 
a  hundred  thousand  pounds  in  money,  besides  all  the 
rich  gifts  bestowed  on  him  by  his  father-in-law,  Philip  the 
Fair,  which  was  looked  upon  by  the  queen  and  the  uncles 
who  came  with  her,  as  an  insult.  The  queen's  own  out- 
fit was  furnished  from  the  spoils  of  the  Knights  Templars 
whom  Philip  had,  with  cruel  treachery,  lately  destroyed 
in  France.*  She  was  a  girl  of  only  thirteen  years  old, 
and  no  one  who  saw  her  handsome  face  could  have 
guessed  what  misery  and  disgrace  were  to  spring  from 
this  seemingly  promising  union.  When  the  barons  in- 
sisted that  the  king  should  banish  Gaveston  from  the 
country,  Edward  did  it  by  making  him  Lord  Lieutenant 
of  Ireland.  He  next  induced  the  Pope  to  absolve  his 
favorite  from  the  oath  he  had  been  forced  to  take  never 
to  return  to  England;  back  he  came,  more  insolent  and 
reckless  than  ever,  and  again  the  king's  imprudent  affec- 
tion displayed  itself.  Edward's  misgovernment  increased 
year  by  year;  the  public  money  was  wasted  and  the  pub- 
lic welfare  disregarded  while  he  and  Gaveston  feasted 
and  revelled  as  if  the  one  object  of  life  had  been  frolick- 
ing together.  The 'barons  managed  to  get  hold  of  the 
favorite,  and  after  a  mock  trial,  he  was  beheaded  near 
Warwick  Castle.  When  Edward  heard  this  he  was  filled 
with  grief  and  rage.  He  tried  to  raise  an  army  to  fight 
the  rebellious  barons,  but  his  subjects  were  more  in  sym- 

*  See  "A  Short  History  of  France,"  Chapter  5CI. 


116  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

pathy  with  them  than  with  him.  In  the  meantime,  the 
rebels  were  coming  against  him  with  a  much  larger  force 
than  he  could  bring  together;  and  some  friends,  in  pity 
for  his  forlorn  condition,  and  desiring  to  ward  off  a  civil 
war,  made  peace  between  them. 

Robert  I.  of  Scotland  (Bruce)  was  by  this  time  pretty 
firmly  seated  upon  his  throne,  but  the  English  felt  that 
their  national  honor  called  for  a  renewal  of  the  war;  and 
now  that  Gaveston  was  out  of  the  way,  they  raised  such 
a  splendid  army  as  had  never  before  marched  out  of 
England.  The  king,  as  a  matter  of  course,  took  command 
of  it.  Nothing  was  spared,  and  the  king  started  at  the 
head  of  his  troops  for  Stirling  Castle,  which  Bruce  was 
besieging.  But  he  never  reached  the  castle,  for  at  Ban- 
nockburn,  two  miles  distant,  was  fought  the  battle  which 
decided  the  fate  of  Scotland. 

Robert  Bruce  the  king  was  a  very  different  person 
now  from  the  vacillating,  self-seeking  youth  who  plunged 
his  dagger  into  the  breast  of  the  Red  Comyn  eight  years 
before.  He  had  had  long  years  of  hiding  and  poverty 
before  he  could  feel  secure  of  even  his  life;  and  had 
learned  those  lessons  of  self-control  and  patient  endur- 
ance of  hardship  which  adversity  can  best  teach.  Since 
he  had  been  king  in  reality  as  well  as  in  name,  he  had 
governed  his  country  admirably;  and  though  the  people 
in  some  parts  of  it  were  still  exposed  to  sudden  attacks 
from  the  English,  in  the  cruel  spirit  of  the  time,  when 
burning  and  ravaging  seemed  to  be  the  natural  order  of 
things,  the  country  in  general  enjoyed  a  season  of  peace. 

Bruce's  army  of  30,000  men  was  not  in  number  more 
than  a  third  as  large  as  Edward's,  but  all  were  animated 
by  one  spirit,  the  love  of  country;  while  on  the  English 


EDWARD  II.       BANNOCKBURN.  117 

side  was  sullen  dislike  of  the  king  among  the  common 
people  and  open  unwillingness  to  help  him  on  the  part 
of  the  nobles,  many  of  the  latter  having  refused  to  join 
him  at  all. 

Bruce  chose  his  position  with  great  judgment.  There 
was  a  mountain  on  one  side,  a  swamp  on  the  other,  and 
the  little  brook  Bannock  in  front.  Along  the  bank  of 
this  stream  he  had  caused  pits  to  be  dug,  covered  with 
turf  and  bushes,  and  into  these  were  driven  stakes,  with 
sharpened  points  sticking  upward.  Tradition  tells  us  that 
the  day  and  night  before  the  battle  were  spent  by  the 
Scotts  in  fasting: 

"They  dynit  none  of  them  that  day, " 

says  the  poet  who  celebrates  the  battle. 

On  the  day  itself  the  English  came  prancing  along  in 
their  shining  armor,  full  of  pride  in  themselves  and  con- 
tempt for  their  enemies,  the  latter,  being  poorly  provided 
with  horses,  fighting  mainly  on  foot.  The  pits  which  had 
been  dug  threw  Edward's  horsemen  into  confusion;  and 
taking  advantage  of  this,  Bruce  sent  Sir  James  Douglas 
to  charge  upon  them,  and  they  were  utterly  routed.  The 
English  infantry  seeing  them  fly,  were  thrown  into  con- 
sternation. One  and  all  they  broke  their  ranks  and  fled, 
their  officers  finding  it  impossible  to  rally  them.  As  there 
was  no  place  where  the  great  host  could  take  shelter 
within  eighty  miles,  they  might  almost  all  have  been 
made  prisoners,  but  that  the  Scots  preferred  plundering 
the  English  camp,  where  they  found  a  vast  amount  of 
booty.  Edward  and  the  remains  of  his  army  hastened 
on  to  Dunbar  and  from  there  took  ship  for  Berwick,  leav- 
ing ten  thousand  dead  and  wounded  on  the  field;  and 


118  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

the  attempts  to  conquer  Scotland  were  brought,  for  the 
time  at  least,  to  a  close  (1314). 

The  adventures  and  exploits  of  Bruce  were  long  the 
subjects  of  Scottish  song  and  story.  Toward  the  end 
of  the  same  century,  John  Barbour's  poem  of  "The 
Bruce"  woke  again  the  echoes  of  national  pride;  and 
in  the  century  following  a  minstrel  called  "Blind  Harry" 
celebrated  with  no  less  ardor  the  brave  deeds  of  Sir 
William  Wallace.  We  are  all  familiar  with  the  noble 
song  of  Burns  beginning: 

' '  Scots,  wha  ha'e  wi'  Wallace  bled ; 
Scots,  wham  Bruce  has  aften  led ! " 

It  is  supposed  to  be  addressed  by  Bruce  to  his  army 
before  the  battle  of  Bannockburn. 

The  misery  caused  in  England  by  the  Scottish  war 
was  increased  by  misfortune  at  home.  In  the  year 
of  Bannockburn  there  was  a  poor  harvest;  and  the 
government,  disregarding  the  natural  law  which  we  know 
as  that  of  "supply  and  demand,"  undertook  to  regulate 
the  price  of  provisions.  This  only  made  matters  worse. 
The  next  season,  in  addition  to  famine,  there  was  a 
disease  among  the  cattle  which  carried  off  many  thou- 
sands of  them.  The  great  barons,  who  had  been 
accustomed  to  feeding  and  caring  for  hundreds  of 
retainers  whose  services  they  claimed  in  war,  being  no 
longer  able  to  support  them,  turned  them  out  to  beg, 
steal,  or  starve,  and  the  country  was  again  filled  with 
bands  of  plunderers.  In  the  midst  of  all  this  distress, 
the  king  was  occupied  with  two  new  favorites,  the 
Despensers,  father  and  son,  less  mischievous  than 
Gaveston  but  hated  on  account  of  the  favors  bestowed 
on  them.  The  earl  of  Lancaster,  always  in  the  opposi- 


EDWARD  II.       BANNOCKBURN.  119 

tion,  headed  those  who  were  against  the  Despensers. 
A  chance  turn  of  affairs  in  the  king's  favor  enabled  him 
to  defeat  the  earl  and  take  him  prisoner;  and  the  old 
man  was  beheaded  before  his  own  castle  gate.  He  was 
mounted  on  a  poor  starved  pony  without  saddle  or 
bridle,  pelted  with  stones,  and  thus  led  out  to  execution. 
Twenty-eight  knights  taken  with  him  were  hanged,  drawn, 
and  quartered.  Such  was  the  idea  of  war  in  those 
dreadful  times. 

Queen  Isabella,  who  had  long  despised  her  husband, 
now  formed  a  plan  to  separate  herself  from  him.  Mak- 
ing a  frivolous  excuse,  she  took,  her  oldest  son  to  Paris, 
where  she  was  soon  followed  by  a  favorite  of  her  own, 
Roger  Mortimer,  and  no  persuasions  could  induce  her  to 
return.  It  brings  tears  to  one's  eyes  even  now  to  read 
Edward's  pathetic  letters  to  her  and  his  son;  but  it  was 
of  no  use.  She  went  to  Flanders,  and  there  performed 
the  one  good  action  of  her  life  by  betrothing  her  son  to 
the  count's  daughter,  Philippa  of  Hainault. 

Many  of  the  discontented  nobles,  with  their  followers, 
had  joined  Isabella  and  Mortimer  in  Flanders,  and  there 
they  contrived  dark  plots  against  the  unfortunate  king. 
Having  collected  a  sufficient  number  of  men  to  cairy  out 
their  purposes  they  sailed  for  England,  where  Isabella  so 
gained  over  the  Parliament  that  Edward  II.  was  deposed 
and  the  young  Prince  Edward  crowned  in  his  place.  In 
the  meantime  the  king  was  hurrying  from  place  to  place, 
trying  to  hide  from  his  enemies,  who  by  this  time  in- 
cluded almost  all  his  subjects.  At  last,  abandoned  and 
deserted  by  all,  he  was  seized,  and  after  being  passed 
along  from  one  hard-hearted  keeper  to  another,  came  to 
his  end  in  Berkeley  Castle.  He  had  before  this  been 


120  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

shamefully  insulted;  a  crown  of  hay  was  placed  on  his 
head,  and  the  soldiers  brought  him  ditch-water  to  shave 
with.  At  this  the  tears  ran  down  his  cheeks,  and  he  said 
to  his  tormentors,  "I  have  some  clean  warm  water  here 
[his  tears]  in  spite  of  you!"  Finally  the  queen  and 
Mortimer  began  to  see  signs  of  a  change  of  feeling 
among  the  people;  and,  to  prevent  any  possible  reaction 
of  feeling,  the  king  was  barbarously  murdered  (1327). 
The  poet  Gray  has  put  into  the  mouth  of  his  "Bard"' 
a  prophecy  of  this  event : 

"Mark  the  year  and  mark  the  night, 
When  Severn  shall  re-echo  with  affright 
The  shrieks  of  death  through  Berkeley's  roof  that  ring, 
Shrieks  of  an  agonizing  king!" 

Poor  Edward !  His  life  was  all  wrong  from  the  begin- 
ning. He  made  the  mistake  of  preferring  pleasure  to 
duty;  he  was  a  disobedient  son,  and  he  had  no  sense  of 
responsibility.  His  whole  life  was  one  of  shifts  and 
evasions.  But  he  suffered  fearfully  for  his  faults  and 
follies;  and  the  memory  of  his  misfortunes  softens  some- 
what our  indignation  at  his  misdoings.  He  was  at  the 
time  of  his  death  only  forty-three  years  old,  and  had 
been  king  for  nearly  twenty  years. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

EDWARD  III.   THE  HUNDRED  YEARS'  WAR. 


DWARD  III.  was  a  boy  of  fourteen  when  the 
crown  was  placed  on  his  head  in  1327.     His 
father  was  still  living,  but  the  government  was 
carried  on  entirely  by  the  queen  and  Roger  Mortimer. 


EDWARD   III.      HUNDRED    YEARS'   WAR.       121 

While  he  was  away  from  London  on  an  expedition 
against  the  Scots,  his  promised  bride,  Philippa  of 
Hainault,  came  from  Flanders  escorted  by  her  uncle; 
and  not  finding  the  bridegroom  they  followed  him  to 
York,  when  he  and  Philippa  were  married  in  the  grand 
old  minster. 

Mortimer,  who  had  now  become  Earl  of  March,  made, 
in  the  king's  name,  what  was  thought  a  disgraceful  peace 
with  Scotland.  The  independence  of  that  country  was 
fully  acknowledged,  all  claim  to  homage  being  given  up. 
Robert  Bruce  was  recognized  as  king,  and  his  only  son 
David,  was  betrothed  to  Edward  the  Third's  sister, 
Joan.*  The  English  were  enraged  at  what  seems  to  us 
a  very  sensible  agreement;  the  ill-will  toward  Mor- 
timer grew  stronger  than  ever,  and  a  plot  was  formed 
against  his  life.  The  king  himself,  now  seventeen  years 
old,  was  the  leader  in  this.  It  was  difficult  to  secure 
Mortimer,  who  lived  with  Isabella  at  Nottingham  Castle, 
as  the  keys  were  brought  every  night  to  the  queen,  who 
slept  with  them  under  her  pillow.  But  the  governor  told 
the  conspirators  of  a  secret  underground  passage  by 
which  they  could  enter  the  castle. t  Through  this  they 
went,  after  dark,  the  king  meeting  them  at  the  end  of  the 
passage.  In  silence  and  darkness  they  crept  up  stairs, 
till  they  heard  Mortimer's  voice.  They  then  rushed  in 
and  took  him  prisoner,  in  spite  of  the  entreaties  of 
Queen  Isabella,  who  called  out  from  the  next  room, 
"Oh,  my  sweet  son,  spare  my  gentle  Mortimer!"  A 
parliament  was  called  expressly  to  judge  him.  He  was 

*  Pronounced  "Jone";  not  "Jo-an. " 

tThe  entrance  to  this  is  still  visible  at  Nottingham,  and  is  called 
"Mortimer's  Hole." 


122  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

declared  guilty  of  treason,  and  condemned  to  be  hanged 
at  Tyburn.  This  was  the  first  execution  at  that  famous 
place,  which  was,  until  recent  times,  still  used  for  the 
same  purpose. 

Though  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  Mortimer  deserved 
to  suffer  death  (for  he  confessed  that  he  had  directed 
King  Edward's  murder),  the  hasty  action  in  some  measure 
defeated  its  own  object,  since  at  a  later  time  the  sentence 
was  reversed  on  account  of  its  being  illegal,  and  through 
a  royal  marriage  with  one  of  his  descendants,  the  blood 
of  this  very  Roger  Mortimer  flows  in  the  veins  of  Queen 
Victoria. 

After  Mortimer's  death,  Edward  III.  took  the  govern- 
ment into  his  own  hands,  and  confined  his  mother  to  her 
house  of  Castle  Rising,  making  her  an  occasional  formal 
visit,  but  not  allowing  her  to  have  any  share  in  public 
affairs.  At  the  age  of  eighteen,  he  already  showed 
so  much  sense  and  discretion  that  the  turbulent  barons 
ceased  to  oppose  him,  and  the  country  put  on  an  appear- 
ance of  peace  and  prosperity. 

Robert  Bruce  died  about  a  year  after  the  battle  of 
Bannocklur.i,  leaving  a  son  of  only  eight  years  old  (the 
little  David,  already  betrothed  to  Edward's  sister,  Joan) 
to  be  king  after  him.  This  gave  a  new  impulse  to  the 
war  which  was  always  going  on  between  England  and 
Scotland.  Edward  Baliol,  the  son  of  John  the  former 
king,  raised  an  army  with  which  he  defeated  the  friends 
of  King  David  at  Perth  with  great  loss.  The  Scots  were 
by  no  means  united  in  support  of  their  young  king,  and 
Baliol  was  crowned  at  Scone,  David  and  his  betrothed 
wife,  called  by  the  Scotch  "Joan  Makepeace,"  being 
sent  to  France  for  safety. 


EDWARD  III.      HUNDRED   YEARS'   WAR.       123 

Edward  III.  of  England,  now  joining  his  forces  with 
those  of  Baliol,  fought  a  great  battle  at  Halidown  Hill, 
near  Berwick,  completely  defeating  the  Scots,  and 
securing  the  town  of  Berwick  as  a  possession  to  Eng- 
land. Baliol,  however,  was  not  allowed  to  remain  in 
Scotland,  and  David  Bruce  returned  to  his  kingdom. 

Meantime,  Edward  III.'s  ambition  was  taking  a  new 
turn.  The  affairs  of  France  were  in  a  disturbed  state, 
as  no  one  of  Philip's  IV.'s  three  sons  (the  last  of  whom, 
Charles  IV.,  was  now  dead)  had  left  any  male  heirs,  and 
what  was  called  the  Salic  law  in  France  did  not  permit  a 
woman  to  reign  there  (on  account,  an  old  writer  says,  of 
the  imbecility  of  the  sex).  This  traditional  law  had 
never  been  formally  enacted  by  statute;  but  as  it  had 
prevailed  in  France  for  nine  hundred  years,  the  French 
people  had  no  mind  to  do  away  with  it.  Edward  laid 
•claim  to  the  throne  through  his  mother,  Philip's  sister. 
There  were  two  reasons  against  this :  one  being  that  it 
was  for  the  French  people,  and  not  for  the  king  of  Eng- 
land, to  decide  what  the  Salic  law  meant;  and  the  other, 
that  two  of  Isabella's  older  brothers  had  left  daughters, 
•each  of  whom  had  a  son.  Notwithstanding  this,  Philip 
•of  Valois,  nephew  of  Philip  IV.,  was  proclaimed  at  once 
by  the  council,  so  entirely  was  the  Salic  law  understood 
to  provide  for  unbroken  male  succession. 

Edward's  ambition,  however,  took  no  account  of  any 
•objections,  so  he  plunged  his  country  into  a  war  that 
lasted,  off  and  on,  for  more  than  a  hundred  years,  wasting 
millions  of  English  money  and  tens  of  thousands  of  Eng- 
lish lives,  and  leaving  at  last  the  English  possessions  in 
France  far  smaller  than  when  the  war  began. 

The  first  struggle  between  the  two  nations  took  place 


124  HISTORY   OF  ENGLAND. 

on  the  water.  Having  obtained  as  many  foreign  allies* 
as  he  could,  Edward  set  sail  with  a  fine  fleet  and  army 
for  Flanders,  where  he  met  the  French  fleet,  and  won  a 
complete  victory  in  the  harbor  of  Sluys. 

His  great  trouble  in  all  these  wars  was,  of  course,  the 
want  of  money.  At  first  the  parliament  granted  it  very 
willingly,  but  after  a  while  they  grew  tired  of  the  con- 
tinual demands  for  it,  and  protested  that  they  could  raise 
no  more.  The  clergy  were  very  generous  to  him,  and 
gave  him,  voluntarily,  one  tenth  of  their  incomes;  he 
borrowed  from  the  merchants  of  Florence  and  other 
foreign  cities  all  the  gold  they  would  lend;  he  pawned 
the  crown-jewels,  both  his  own  and  Philippa's;  and 
finally,  he  sent  word  to  all  the  gentlemen  in  England 
who  had  an  income  of  ^40  ($200)  or  over  to  come  at 
once  to  London  and  receive  the  honor  of  knighthood,  or 
else  pay  a  fine.  This  kind  of  "Stand-and-deliver"  prac- 
tice was  not  uncommon  in  those  days.  Of  course  each 
knight  paid  a  fee  to  the  king  when  he  received  the  title 
of  "Sir,"  and  a  blow  on  the  shoulder  from  his  Majesty's 
sword;  but  many  of  them  would  rather  have  been 
excused  from  accepting  the  honor.  With  Edward  it 
was  always  "Heads,  I  win;  tails,  you  lose."  They  paid 
a  fine  if  they  stayed  away;  a  fee  if  they  came. 

We  come  now  to  the  battle  of  Cressy — the  first  great 
English  battle  on  French  ground.  Edward  had  a  com- 
paratively small  army — less  than  30,000  men,  all  told,. 
— while  Philip  VI.  had,  the  English  historians  say,  from 
eight  to  ten  times  that  number;  but  they  had  no  such 
general  as  Edward.  He  drew  up  his  army  on  the  gentle 
slope  of  a  hill,  with  a  windmill  at  the  top  from  which  he 

*  Pronounced  a\-/ies,  with  accent  on  the  second  syllable. 


EDWARD  III.      HUNDRED   YEARS'  WAR.       125 

could  watch  its  operations  (the  windmill  is  there  yet), 
and  a  small  ditch  in  front.  There  were  first  used  "bom- 
bards, which,  with  fire,  threw  little  balls  of  iron  to 
frighten  the  horses ! "  This  is  the  first  time  the  use  of 
cannon  is  mentioned.  Roger  Bacon  had  invented  or 
discovered  gunpowder,  but  he  did  not  make  any  practi- 
cal use  of  it,  and  would  probably  have  been  shocked  to 
learn  that  his  new  mixture  would  ever  be  employed  for 
killing  men.  The  cannon  at  Cressy  did  not  do  much 
harm  to  the  enemy,  and  had  a  bad  habit  of  exploding 
after  a  few  balls  had  been  fired,  which  caused  them  to  be 
looked  on  with  small  favor  until  stronger  castings  came 
into  use. 

The  prince  of  Wales,  named  Edward,  like  his  father, 
was  at  this  time  sixteen  years  old,  and  was  fighting  in 
the  field  like  anybody  else,  when  some  one  brought 
word  to  the  king  that  his  son  was  hard  pressed  by  the 
enemy,  and  asked  for  help.  "Is  my  son  dead,  or  un- 
horsed, or  badly  wounded?"  inquired  Edward.  "No, 
Sire,  but  he  is  fighting  hard,  and  needs  your  aid." 
"Let  the  boy  win  his  spurs,"*  answered  Edward,  "for  I 
wish,  if  God  so  wills  it,  that  the  day  may  be  his."  The 
French  were  tired  with  marching  when  they  began  the 
battle;  their  officers  were  not  equal  to  handling  so  great 
a  host;  and  though  they  fought  fiercely,  the  English 
bowmen  won  the  day. 

Never  before  had  such  a  victory  been  gained  by  any 
English  army.  Thirty-five  thousand  of  the  enemy  lay 

*  In  allusion  to  the  honor  of  knighthood,  by  which  gilt  spurs  were 
given  to  a  young  squire  who  had  fought  bravely,  instead  of  the  iron 
ones  worn  by  all  common  horsemen.  For  a  detailed  account  of  the 
usages  of  Chivalry,  see  "A  Short  History  of  France,"  p.  115. 


126  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

dead  upon  the  field,  including  many  of  their  highest 
nobility  and  eleven  princes  of  the  blood.  The  blind  old 
King  of  Bohemia,  determined  to  have  his  share  of  the 
glory,  rode  into  battle  between  two  knights,  their  horses 
tied  to  his,  that  he  might  not  be  lost  in  the  crowd.  All 
were  slain,  and  the  Prince  of  Wales  adopted  the  three 
ostrich  feathers  which  formed  the  Bohemian  king's  crest 
and  his  beautiful  motto,  "Ich  dien" — "I  serve" — as  his 
own,  and  they  have  been  borne  by  every  Prince  of  Wales 
from  that  day  to  this.  It  is  said  that  the  French  gave 
the  young  Edward  the  name  of  "The  Black  Prince,"  from 
the  color  of  the  armor  he  wore  on  that  day. 

From  Cressy,  King  Edward  marched  with  his  army  to- 
Calais,  not  very  far  off,  which  he  besieged  for  nearly 
a  year  before  he  could  make  it  surrender.  During  this 
time  a  battle  was  fought  at  Neville's  Cross,  in  the 
northern  part  of  England,  with  poor  unlucky  King 
David,  son  of  Robert  Bruce,  who  always  seemed  to  be 
on  the  losing  side.  This  time  he  was  taken  prisoner  and 
carried  to  London.  Philippa,  who  had  been  left  regent 
of  England  while  Edward  was  in  France,  was  present  at 
this  battle.  She  rode  through  the  ranks  encouraging  the 
troops,  and  then  retired  to  her  tent  to  pray  for  their 
success. 

The  Parliament  were  so  delighted  with  the  victories  of 
Cressy  and  Neville's  Cross  that  they  gave  Edward  all  the 
money  he  wanted.  t  The  tax  on  the  exportation  of  wool 
was  one  of  those  given  at  this  time  to  the  king,  which 
caused  Philip  of  Valois  to  speak  contemptuously  of  him 
as  "The  English  Wool  Merchant."  Edward  had  his 
jest  in  return,  for  on  learning  of  an  oppressive  tax  on 
salt  raised  by  Philip  for  his  expenses  (every  person, 


EDWARD  III.       HUNDRED   YEARS'   WAR.       127 

even  the  poorest,  being  obliged  to  buy  a  certain  quan- 
tity of  salt  each  year  for  the  king's  benefit),  he  remarked 
that  his  French  rival  truly  reigned  by  the  Salic  law.* 

But  we  have  left  Edward  too  long  besieging  Calais. 
(No  doubt  the  hungry  sufferers  there  thought  the  same). 
When  the  town  was  first  invested  by  his  army,  the  garri- 
son turned  out  seventeen  hundred  useless  people, 
women,  children,  and  old  men,  who  could  not  fight  and 
only  helped  to  eat  up  the  provisions,  and  Edward  kindly 
gave  them  each  a  good  meal  and  two  small  pieces  of 
money,  letting  them  go  where  they  pleased.  Later  in 
the  siege,  when  he  had  become  very  angry  at  being  kept 
there  so  long,  they  sent  out  five  hundred  more  starving 
wretches;  but  the  king  would  do  nothing  for  them,  and 
most  of  them  died  miserably  in  sight  of  his  soldiers. 

When  the  siege  had  lasted  nearly  a  year,  the  garrison 
could  hold  out  no  longer.  Edward  at  first  threatened  to 
kill  them  all,  but  finally  agreed  that  if  six  of  the  principal 
citizens  were  sent  to  him,  barefooted,  with  ropes  around 
their  necks,  he  would  let  the  rest  go  free.  Wild  was  the 
grief  in  Calais  when  the  hard  terms  were  made  known. 
The  burghers  met  in  the  town-hall  to  consider  the  matter, 
and  for  a  long  time  a  dead  silence  prevailed.  At  last 
the  richest  and  most  honored  man  in  the  town,  Eustace 
de  St.  Pierre,  arose  and  said  he  would  be  the  first.  One 
by  one,  five  others  followed  him.  Then  the  governor, 
Sir  John  de  Vienne,  was  mounted  on  a  little  pony,  for 
he  was  too  weak  to  walk,  and  amid  the  loud  weeping  and 
wailing  of  their  fellow -townsmen,  he  led  the  six  men  to 
the  gate  of  the  city,  and  delivered  them,  with  the  keys, 
to  Sir  Walter  Manny,  whom  Edward  had  sent  to  receive 

*  "Sal"  was  the  old  French  word  for  salt. 


128  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

them  (1347).  When  they  were  taken  to  the  king,  their 
cheeks  wasted  by  hunger  and  their  tottering  legs  scarcely 
able  to  support  them,  every  heart  was  moved  by  pity — 
every  heart  except  the  king's.  He  had  made  up  his 
mind,  and  he  was  not  going  to  alter  it  for  the  entreaties 
of  any  number  of  his  own  brave  soldiers.  "Strike  off 
their  heads!"  said  he  fiercely.  But  now  good  Queen 
Phillippa  came  up  to  him,  and  falling  on  her  knees, 
begged  him  for  her  sake  to  grant  their  lives. 

The  king  at  first  made  no  answer;  he  was  struggling 
with  his  anger,  but  at  last  he  said,  "Dame,  I  wish  you 
had  been  anywhere  else;  but  as  you  want  them,  I  give 
them  to  you.  Do  with  them  as  you  please!"  Philippa 
soon  signified  her  pleasure  in  the  matter.  She  ordered 
that  the  six  citizens  should  each  have  a  good  dinner,  a 
suit  of  handsome  clothes,  and  a  present  in  money. 
Her  victory  at  Neville's  Cross  was  outdone  by  the  one 
she  gained  at  Calais. 

King  Edward  tried  his  best  to  make  Calais  an  English 
town.  He  turned  out  the  French  inhabitants  and  invited 
his  own  people  to  come  in  and  settle  it;  but  even  the 
offer  of  houses  rent-free  did  not  bring  very  desirable 
tenants,  and  after  a  while  he  was  glad  to  let  some  of  the 
rich  burghers  come  back  to  give  respectability  to  the 
place.  Still,  it  remained  largely  English,  and  that  may 
have  been  the  reason  why  the  English  were  able  to  keep 
it  for  more  than  two  hundred  years. 


THE  BLACK  PRINCE.  129 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

THE    BLACK   PRINCE. 


closely  upon  the  success  at  Calais 
came  that  terrible  pestilence  known  in  Europe 
as  the  "Black  Death"  (1348-49).  In  London 
alone,  50,000  persons  are  said  to  have  died  of  it,  and 
France  was  in  so  terrible  a  condition  that  both  armies 
stopped  fighting  and  waited  for  better  times. 

We  have  now  another  curious  instance  of  the  effort  to 
interfere,  by  legislation,  with  the  natural  laws  which 
govern  supply  and  demand.  As  the  number  of  laborers 
in  England  became  fewer,  by  reason  of  the  plague,  those 
who  were  able  to  work  demanded  higher  wages;  upon 
which  laws  were  made  fixing  the  rate  of  wages  at  a  certain 
sum  per  day,  and  threatening  severe  punishments  to 
those  who  refused  to  work  at  that  price.  This,  of  course, 
produced  great  irritation,  and  was  soon  abandoned. 

Philip  of  Valois,  king  of  France,  died  in  1350,  and 
was  followed  by  his  son  John,  called,  with  very  little 
reason,  "The  Good."  For  several  years  unhappy  France 
was  the  scene  of  continual  ravaging  by  two  English 
armies,  King  Edward's  in  the  north  and  the  Black 
Prince's  in  the  west.  The  Prince,  sailing  up  the  river 
Garonne,  carried  his  army  into  the  richest  part  of  France, 
"one  of  the  fat  countries  of  the  world,  the  people  good 
and  simple,  who  knew  not  before  what  war  was;"  and 
there  they  broke  into  private  houses  like  an  army  of 
locusts  in  a  rice  field,  devastating  all  they  found  before 
them.  The  same  old  writer  before  quoted  says  :  "  They 
9 


130  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

carried  off  everything.  The  country  was  very  full  and 
gay,  the  rooms  adorned  with  carpets  and  draperies,  the 
caskets  and  chests  full  of  fair  jewels.  But  nothing  was- 
safe  from  these  robbers."  All  this  made  the  English 
dreaded  and  detested,  and  the  inhabitants  would  not 
tell  them  anything  about  King  John's  movements,  so- 
that  the  Black  Prince  suddenly  found  himself  within 
fighting  distance  of  the  French  army  near  Poitiers,  in  the 
very  neighborhood  where  great  battles  had  taken  place 
centuries  before.*  The  French  had  a  very  large  army, 
and  the  Prince  a  very  small  one,  but  he  was  a  consum- 
mate general,  and  it  is  harder  to  manage  a  great  number 
of  men  than  a  smaller  one.  To  avoid  the  battle,  the 
Prince  offered  to  restore  all  his  conquests,  provided  he 
and  his  soldiers  might  retire  unharmed  to  Bordeaux;, 
but  John  the  Foolish,  in  the  pride  of  numbers  and  vain- 
glory, would  accept  nothing  less  than  the  unconditional 
surrender  of  the  entire  army.  "I  will  never  be  taker* 
prisoner  but  with  sword  in  hand  ! "  was  the  answer. 
"God  defend  the  right!" 

The  Prince  chose  his  ground,  as  his  father  had  done 
at  Cressy,  with  great  skill,  and  his  superior  tactics  won 
the  day.  King  John,  fighting  bravely  to  the  last,  was 
taken  prisoner  with  his  youngest  son.  The  number  of 
Frenchmen  killed  and  wounded  did  not  fall  short  of 
10,000  men.  This  was  in  1356,  just  ten  years  after  the 
battle  of  Cressy. 

The  Black  Prince  treated  his  royal  captive  with  great 
respect,  waiting  upon  him  at  table  with  the  utmost 

*  One  between  Clovis  and  the  Visigoths,  507,  and  another  be- 
tween Charles  Martel  and  the  Saracens,  732.  The  latter  is 
commonly  called  the  battle  of  Tours. 


THE  BLACK  PRINCE.  131 

humility,  and  saying  that  it  did  not  become  him,  as 
a  subject,  to  sit  at  table  with  a  king.  When  they 
arrived  in  London,  and  the  brilliant  procession  passed 
through  the  streets,  the  king  of  France  was  mounted  on 
a  superb  white  horse,  while  the  prince,  his  conqueror, 
rode  by  his  side  on  a  little  black  pony;  all  which  must 
have  been  vastly  consoling  to  King  John.  The  mon- 
arch did  not  show  much  spirit  after  his  capture,  though 
he  had  fought  well  in  the  field.  He  made  a  treaty 
with  the  Black  Prince  so  dishonorable  to  France  that  his 
son  the  Dauphin  refused  to  agree  to  it,  and  several  years 
were  taken  up  in  talking  over  the  matter.  At  length  an 
arrangement  was  proposed  by  which  the  king  was  set  at 
liberty,  leaving  two  of  his  sons  as  hostages  for  the 
ransom.  This  is  called  the  Treaty  of  Bretigny  (1360). 

France  was  in  no  condition  to  raise  the  immense  ran- 
som demanded,  for  the  whole  country  was  a  prey  to 
quarrels  among  the  nobles  and  insurrections  among  the 
peasants.  King  John's  sons  found  it  dull  in  England, 
and  one  of  them  ran  away;  all  of  which  decided  the 
king  to  return  to  that  country  as  a  prisoner,  remarking 
that  though  honor  was  banished  from  the  rest  of  the 
world,  it  should  be  found  in  the  breast  of  kings.  And 
when  honor  and  comfort  coincided  so  completely  as 
they  did  on  this  occasion,  we  can  not  wonder  that  the 
palace  of  the  Savoy  (his  London  dwelling-place)  again 
received  its  royal  inmate,  who  was  entertained  there  in 
luxury,  without  a  care  or  any  necessity  for  exertion. 
He  did  not  live  long  after  his  return,  and  was  royally 
buried  by  King  Edward. 

David  Bruce,  who  had  been  a  captive  since  the  battle 
of  Neville's  Cross,  was  also  permitted  to  go  home  to  raise 


132  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

a.  ransom,  and  also  returned  to  captivity  when  he  failed  to 
secure  it.  After  eleven  years  the  payment  was  arranged 
for,  and  King  David  went  back  to  his  own  country  to 
finish  a  weak  and  discreditable  reign. 

The  Black  Prince  was  now  established  at  Bordeaux  in 
France  with  a  regular  court  of  his  own.  He  married  his 
cousin,  the  "Fair  Maid  of  Kent,"  with  whom  he  had 
been  in  love  since  they  were  children,  though  both  had 
been  married  in  the  interval.  And  here  he  might  have 
spent  a  happy,  peaceful  life,  and  been  king  after  his 
father's  death,  but  that  the  passion  for  military  gl(>ry  led 
him  into  an  expedition  which  ruined  his  health,  wasted 
his  money,  and  finally  sent  him  home  to  die  in  the  prime 
of  life,  to  the  unspeakable  injury  of  his  country. 

There  was  reigning  at  this  time  in  Castile  (a  country 
in  Spain)  a  certain  King  Pedro,  who  had  deserved  and 
obtained  the  title  of  "The  Cruel."  Being  opposed  by 
his  half-brother,  Henry  of  Trastamare  (which  means 
"from  across  the  sea")  he  fled  to  Bordeaux,  where  he 
was  kindly  received  by  the  Prince  of  Wales,  who  thought 
that  a  legitimate  king,  no  matter  how  wicked,  should  be 
supported  against  a  usurper,  no  matter  how  good.  He 
promised  to  go  himself  into  Spain  with  an  army  to  help 
the  cruel  Pedro,  and  as  he  could  not  spare  enough  of  his 
own  soldiers,  he  took  into  his  pay  some  of  the  "Free 
Companies/'bodies  of  troops  who  fought  only  for  plunder, 
owing  allegiance  to  no  country  in  particular,  but  as  ready 
to  fight  for  one  as  another.  They  had  just  been  serving 
against  this  very  Pedro,  on  behalf  of  Charles  the  Wisfe  of 
France,  son  of  King  John.  Pedro  promised  the  Prince 
of  Wales  to  reimburse  whatever  money  he  should  spend 
for  him;  and  the  prince,  too  honorable  himself  to 


THE  BLACK  PRINCE.  133 

suspect  fraud  in  another  person,  set  out  in  high  spirits 
for  Spain. 

He  received  the  treatment  he  might  have  expected 
from  the  wicked  brute  for  whose  benefit  he  had  under- 
taken the  war.  After  fighting  the  battle  of  Navarete, 
and  putting  Pedro  on  his  throne  again,  he  asked  the  latter 
to  pay  him  the  money  he  owed.  Pedro  kept  putting 
him  off  with  excuses,  and  the  prince  was  forced  at  last  to 
return  without  getting  any  satisfaction.*  But  the  evil 
did  not  end  here.  Thousands  of  his  men  died  from  the 
excessive  heat,  and  he  himself  went  back  to  France 
broken  in  health,  deeply  mortified  at  the  result  of  his 
Campaign.,  and  loaded  with  an  enormous  debt  which  he 
had  no  means  of  paying.  The  Free  Companies,  on  his 
failure  to  keep  his  promises  to  them,  fell  to  plundering 
the  people  again.  The  prince  needed,  besides,  money 
for  his  own  soldiers,  and  to  supply  this  he  imposed  the 
always  unpopular  "hearth-tax" — a  certain  sum  of  money 
to  be  paid  by  each  family,  of  which  his  French  subjects 
complained  bitterly.  Every  tax  is  odious  which  takes  as 
much  from  the  poor  man  as  from  the  rich.  The  people 
of  Guienne  brought  the  matter  before  Charles  V.,  who 
summoned  Prince  Edward  to  come  to  Paris  and  answer 
for  his  conduct.  "Yes,  I  will  come,"  he  replied,  "but  it 
will  be  with  helmet  on  head  and  with  sixty  thousand  men 
at  njy  back!"  He  did  not  go,  however,  for  his  summer 
in  Spain  had  so  broken  him  down  that  he  could  not  even 
mount  his  horse;  and  both  parties,  by  way  of  getting 

*  It  is  gratifying  to  know  that  this  villain  of  a  king  at  last  got 
what  he  deserved.  He  was  killed  in  battle  by  Henry  of  Trastamare, 
who  became  king  of  Castile,  was  much  beloved  by  his  subjects, 
and  was  the  ancestor  of  Queen  Isabella,  the  friend  of  Columbus. 


134  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

even  with  one  another,  went  on  inflicting  suffering  on  the 
poor  and  helpless. 

The  prince  did  not  keep  up  his  character  for  humanity 
and  gentleness  when  he  came  back  from  his  unfortunate 
expedition.  Illness  and  disappointment  had  soured  his 
temper,  and  when  the  town  of  Limoges,  which  had  re- 
belled against  him,  was  taken  by  his  soldiers,  he  ordered 
a  general  massacre  of  all  the  inhabitants,  including 
women  and  children,  in  which  three  thousand  persons 
were  killed  in  cold  blood. 

The  prince's  failing  health  now  obliged  him  to  return 
to  England,  and  he  had  the  mortification  of  seeing  the 
country  he  had  conquered  recovered  piecemeal  by  the 
king  of  France,  until  at  last  nothing  was  left  of  all  that 
had  been  taken  by  his  father  and  himself  except  the  cities 
of  Bayonne  and  Bordeaux  in  Guienne,  and  the  town  of 
Calais.  Nothing  to  show  for  all  the  misery,  the  broken 
hearts,  the  ruined  homes,  wealth  squandered,  fair  prov- 
inces destroyed,  valuable  lives  lost, — but  some  useless 
possessions;  and  all  this  the  consequence  of  one  man's 
ambition ! 

Besides  losses  abroad,  there  was  trouble  at  home.  The 
barons,  taking  advantage  of  the  king's  increasing  age  and 
weakness,  tried  to  regain  their  old  power,  and  to  disregard 
the  will  of  the  people  as  expressed  in  Parliament.  The 
prince  took  the  people's  part,  but  at  his  death  (1376)  the 
nobility,  headed  by  John  of  Gaunt,  his  brother,  again 
interfered,  and  all  was  undone.  The  Black  Prince  was 
buried  in  the  great  cathedral  at  Canterbury,  where  his 
gauntlets  and  helmet  and  leather  surcoat,  all  worn  and 
dusty,  can  still  be  seen,  suspended  over  the  tomb. 

Queen  Philippa  was  now  dead,  and  the  king  aban- 


THE  BLACK  PRINCE.  135 

•doned  himself  to  the  society  of  a  low  woman  named 
Alice  Ferrers,  who  robbed  him  of  everything  she  could 
lay  hands  on,  and  scandalized  the  whole  country  by  her 
shameless  conduct.  A  year  later  he  died  (1377)  in  the 
sixty-fifth  year  of  his  age,  having  just  completed  a  reign 
of  fifty  years. 

We  must  not,  however,  let  the  sad  ending  of  this  great 
reign  blind  us  to  the  glory  of  its  better  days — not  only 
military  glory,  though  there  was  enough  of  that;  but 

"  Peace  hath  her  victories, 
No  less  renowned  than  War. " 

The  grand  fourteenth  century,  of  which  Edward's  reign 
just  covered  the  middle  part,  saw  civilization  advancing 
with  such  strides  as  it  had  never  yet  taken  in  the  nation's 
history.  The  military  achievements  of  this  period  have 
been  told  in  a  connected  series,  because  they  have  fixed 
-dates,  and  are  in  some  degree  dependent  on  one  another; 
but  they  are  the  least  important  of  the  events  in  that 
splendid  half-  century. 

To  Queen  Philippa  is  due  the  honor  of  giving  an  im- 
pulse to  English  manufactures.  Up  to  this  time  England 
had  exported  her  wool  and  received  it  back  in  the  shape 
of  cloth  from  the  looms  of  the  Continent;  Philippa  en- 
couraged her  countrymen,  the  weavers  of  Flanders,  to 
settle  in  her  adopted  country,  and  thus  laid  the  founda- 
tion of  the  great  manufacturing  system  which  still  con- 
tinues a  chief  source  of  England's  wealth.  Manufactures 
lead  to  commerce,  and  on  this  Edward's  great  mind  was 
brought  to  bear.  He  is  called  "The  Father  of  English 
Commerce."  The  arts,  too,  flourished.  The  beautiful 
Windsor  Castle  rose  in  its  stately  magnificence,  and  New 


136  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

College  at  Oxford  still  keeps  green  the  memory  of  William 
of  Wykeham,  its  architect- bishop. 

Edward  III.'s  reign  may  be  especially  marked  as  one 
of  law.  He  obeyed  the  laws  himself  and  taught  others 
to  respect  them;  while  he  never  decided  anything  of  im- 
portance without  consulting  Parliament,  which  he  called 
together  no  fewer  than  seventy  times.  One  of  the  most 
important  acts  passed  by  this  assembly  ordained  that 
cases  in  the  law-courts  should  thenceforth  "be  pleaded 
in  the  English  tongue;"  a  proof  that  the  Norman  element 
was  losing  its  last  hold  on  England. 

But  to  the  reading  world  the  true  glory  of  Edward's 
reign  lies  in  the  fact  that  England  now  possessed  for  the 
first  time  a  national  literature.  The  semi -Saxon  dialect 
which  until  then  had  formed,  with  French  and  Latin,  the 
only  medium  for  writing,  gave  way  to  something  enough 
like  modern  English  for  us  to  understand  it.  Many  of 
its  words  are  now  out  of  date,  but  we  can  still  read  the 
works  of  Chaucer  and  of  Wycliffe  in  the  language  they 
themselves  used,  without  needing  to  have  it  translated. 
Chaucer  is  our  first  great  poet;  to  Wycliffe  we  owe  the 
first  steps  in  that  Reformation  carried  out  a  hundred  and 
fifty  years  later  by  Martin  Luther.  The  names  of  Lang- 
land,  Gower,  and  Mandeville  belong  also  to  this  reign,  but 
they  find  a  place  more  properly  in  the  history  of  literature. 

One  institution  of  Edward's  is  perhaps  more  widely 
known  than  others  of  greater  significance;  the  establish- 
ment of  the  "Order  of  the  Garter."  The  story  is  that  the 
Countess  of  Salisbury,  a  beautiful  woman  much  admired 
at  court,  happened  to  drop  her  garter  at  a  ball;  where- 
upon the  king,  to  check  or  prevent  rude  levity,  picked  it 
up  and  bound  it  round  his  own  knee,  saying,  "Honi  soit 


THE  BLACK  PRINCE.  137 

qui  mal  y  pense."*  And  he  took  occasion  from  the  inci- 
dent to  found  a  society  to  which  kings  and  emperors  are 
proud  to  be  admitted. 

From  the  time  of  King  John,  who  had  at  first  stood 
out  so  boldly  against  the  Pope  and  then  given  in  so 
weakly,  England  had  paid  a  yearly  tribute  to  Rome. 
This  went  on  as  long  as  Edward  was  still  a  minor;  but 
when  he  became  king  he  ceased  to  send  it.  When  the 
Pope  threatened  him  with  the  terrors  of  the  Church, 
Edward  did  what  he  always  did  when  an  important  matter 
came  up — consulted  the  Parliament  about  it.  They  soon 
decided  that  the  Pope  had  no  authority  in  England,  and 
that  the  tax  must  never  be  paid  again.  The  seat  of  the 
papacy  had  been  changed  from  Rome  to  Avignon,  and 
the  popes  for  the  greater  part  of  that  century  were  mere 
tools  of  the  kings  of  France,  so  that  the  English  king  had 
a  double  reason  for  withholding  his  tribute. 

One  of  the  acts  passed  by  Edward's  Parliaments  strikes 
us  as  rather  amusing.  So  much  jealousy  of  the  legal  pro- 
fession had  arisen  that  practising  lawyers  were  declared 
incapable  of  being  chosen  members  of  Parliament. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

RICHARD    II.       WAT   TYLER.       BOLINGBROKE. 


of  Bordeaux,  son  of  the  Black  Prince, 
became  king  when  Edward  III.  died.    He  was 
only  eleven  years  old,   and  the  government 
naturally  fell  under  the  control  of  his  uncles.     Several  of 


*"Evil  to  him  who  evil  thinks." 


138  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

these  sons  of  Edward  III.  play  parts  so  important  in 
history  that  one  can  not  understand  it  fully  without  know- 
ing their  names.  They  are  given  in  Shakspeare's  play  of 
Henry  VI.  for  the  same  purpose.  They  were :  i,  Edward, 
Prince  of  Wales,  father  of  Richard  II.;  2,  William,  who 
•died  young;  3,  Lionel,  Duke  of  Clarence;  4,  John  of 
Gaunt,  Duke  of  Lancaster;  5,  Edmund,  Duke  of  York; 
6,  another  William,  who  also  died  young;  7,  Thomas, 
Duke  of  Gloucester.* 

A  Council  of  Regency  was  appointed  to  carry  on  the 
government  while  Richard  was  under  age,  with  the  three 
sons  of  Edward  III.  who  were  still  living  (Nos.  4,  5,  and 
7)  as  its  leaders;  but  the  eldest  of  these,  John  of  Gaunt, t 
soon  managed  to  become  the  real  head. 

The  war  with  France  went  on,  without  glory  but  with 
the  usual  waste  of  life  and  money.  War  must  be  paid 
for,  and  the  Parliament  laid  a  new  tax  which,  being  de- 
manded from  rich  and  poor  alike,  bore  most  heavily  on 
those  who  had  but  little  to  pay  with.  This  was  a  poll-tax 
of  three  groats \  on  each  person  over  fifteen  years  of  age. 
The  tax-gatherers  were  rude  and  brutal,  as  might  have 
been  expected;  and  when  one  of  them  insulted  the 
daughter  of  a  laborer,  the  father  struck  him  dead  on  the 
spot  with  the  hammer  he  was  using  at  work.  This  man 

*  Edward  III.  was  the  first  to  introduce  into  England  the  title  of 
Duke,  conferring  it  upon  his  own  sons.  Before  that  time  the  highest 
English  dignity  was  that  of  Earl. 

t  So  called  because  he  was  born  at  Ghent  in  Flanders.  The  Eng- 
lish made  as  bad  work  with  Continental  names  as  the  Romans  did 
with  British  ones. 

%  Equal  to  about  25  cents  of  our  money,  but  meaning  far  more 
than  that  to  the  poor  workman. 


RICHARD  II.     WAT  TYLER.    BOLINGBROKE.    139 

whose  name  was  Walter,  was  called  Wat  the  Tiler,*  com- 
monly shortened  to  Wat  Tyler.  His  friends  and  neigh- 
bors applauded  what  he  had  done,  and  very  soon  a  gen- 
eral rising  among  the  peasants  threatened  the  country 
with  a  new  danger.  Up  to  this  time  all  civil  wars  had 
been  between  the  king  and  the  nobles,  or  among  the 
nobles  themselves;  but  here  was  something  the  upper 
•classes  were  quite  unprepared  for — a  rebellion  of  their 
inferiors.  These  peasants  still  held  their  land  partly 
under  the  old  feudal  system,  which  required  personal 
service  in  the  place  of  rent.  This  placed  the  tenant  at 
the  mercy  of  his  landlord,  and  great  dissatisfaction  was 
the  result.  A  priest  named  John  Ball,  a  follower  of 
Wycliffe  (Froissart  calls  him  "a  mad  priest,"  but  he  had 
-a  great  deal  of  method  in  his  madness)  went  about  stirring 
up  the  people  to  assert  their  rights  as  men.  "By  what 
right,"  he  said,  "do  these  lords  and  ladies  flaunt  in  their 
•velvet  and  ermine  while  we  are  clothed  in  rags?  They 
have  wine  and  rich  food  and  fine  wheat  bread;  we  have 
oatmeal  and  straw  to  eat  and  water  to  drink.  They 
have  fine  houses,  and  can  stay  in  them;  we  have  wretched 
huts,  and  must  labor  in  the  wind  and  the  rain.  And  yet 
it  is  our  work  that  gives  them  all  these  good  things. 

**When  Adam  delved  and  Eve  span, 
Where  was  then  the  gentleman?" 

It  was  a  kind  of  socialism  not  well  organized  nor  wise 
in  its  methods,  yet  feeling  after  its  natural  rights.  The 
killing  of  the  tax-gatherer  by  Wat  Tyler  was  the  spark 

*  A  man  who  laid  tile  roofs.  In  these  disturbances  the  leaders 
took  names  from  their  trades;  "Hob  Miller"  and  "Jack  Carter"  for 
instance. 


140  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

that  set  the  country  in  a  blaze.  Everywhere  men  stopped 
their  work  and  hurried  to  join  the  insurgents,  who  soon 
formed  a  body  a  hundred  thousand  strong  and  marched 
to  London.  The  great  Duke  of  Lancaster  (John  of 
Gaunt),  who  was  hated  as  the  representative  of  aristocracy, 
ran  away  and  took  refuge  in  Scotland.  The  young  king, 
now  sixteen  years  old,  showed  good  sense  and  spirit. 
The  rioters  attacked  and  burned  the  palace  called  the 
Savoy,  then  belonging  to  John  of  Gaunt,  and  the  new 
buildings  of  the  lawyers  at  the  Temple.  At  a  personal 
meeting  with  the  boy- king,  he  asked  what  they  wanted. 
"We  want  our  freedom!"  they  shouted.  "We  will  that 
there  shall  be  no  more  serfs!"  "You  shall  have  it," 
answered  the  king;  "I  promise  it."  Satisfied  with  this, 
a  large  proportion  of  the  mob  dispersed  and  went  quietly 
home,  carrying  with  them  copies  of  a  precious  "emanci- 
pation paper"  which  thirty  clerks  had  been  busy  all  day 
in  writing  out  About  thirty  thousand  of  them,  however, 
remained  in  the  city  with  Wat  Tyler,  to  make  sure  that 
the  king's  promises  were  fulfilled.  The  next  day,  as 
Richard  was  riding  through  the  town,  he  met  the  chief 
himself,  with  whom  he  had  a  parley.  The  Mayor  of 
London,  fearing  that  the  king  was  in  danger,  struck  Wat 
down  with  his  dagger,  and  a  servant  killed  him.  The 
mob  broke  out  into  wild  cries  for  revenge.  "What  would 
you  have,  my  masters?"  asked  the  young  king.  "Have 
you  lost  your  leader?  I  am  your  king  and  I  will  be  your 
leader.  Follow  me."  And  riding  bravely  at  their  head, 
he  led  them  into  the  open  country,  where  he  promised  to 
grant  their  wishes  and  a  full  pardon  for  all  offences,  upon 
which  they  dispersed. 

When   the    king's    uncles    returned,    however,    they 


RICHARD  II.     IVA  T  TYLER.    BOLINGBROKE.    141 

refused  to  abide  by  what  he  had  done.  It  was,  indeed, 
illegal,  for  only  the  land-owners  had  the  right  to  free 
their  bondmen.  Still,  the  promise  was  made  to  get 
them  to  lay  down  their  arms,  and  should  have  been 
kept  when  they  had  done  so.  When  the  question  was 
brought  before  the  Parliament,  they  pronounced  the 
king's  grants  null  and  void,  saying  that  their  serfs  were 
their  goods,  and  that  no  one  could  take  away  their 
goods  without  their  consent.  "And  this  consent,"  they 
remarked,  "we  have  never  given  and  never  will  give, 
were  we  all  to  die  in  one  day."  Legally  they  were 
perhaps  right,  morally  they  were  wrong,  and  politically 
they  were  unwise,  because  the  lower  classes  would  have 
been  worth  more  to  their  masters  as  well  as  to  them- 
selves as  freemen.  The  "villains"*  did  not  directly 
gain  their  object;  but  the  expression  of  their  determina- 
tion drew  attention  to  the  subject,  and  serfdom  gradu- 
ally melted  away. 

The  Council  of  Regency  also  came  back,  and  then 
began  the  work  of  punishment.  It  is  said  that  fifteen 
hundred  persons  were  hanged  for  this  outbreak,  in  spite 
of  the  king's  pardon;  a  sad  example  of  bad  faith  in 
these  "noble"  fugitives!  As  the  friends  of  these  victims 
sometimes  cut  down  the  bodies  so  as  to  bury  them 
decently,  the  order  was  given  to  chain  the  bodies  to  the 
gallows,  which  was  the  origin  of  "hanging  in  chains,"  so 
long  practised  in  England. 

The  king's  uncles  were  restless,  intriguing  men,  who 
allowed  him  no  voice  in  the  government;  and  he  one 

*  This  name  was  first  given  to  persons  bound  to  feudal  service 
because  their  dwellings  were  built  round  the  villa  or  castle  of  their 
lord. 


142  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

day  surprised  the  Duke  of  Gloucester,  whom  he  espe- 
cially disliked,  by  asking  him  in  Council,  "Uncle,  how 
old  am  I?"  "Your  Highness  is  in  your  twenty-third 
year,"  answered  the  Duke.  "Then  I  am  able  to  man- 
age my  own  affairs,"  replied  the  king.  "Gentlemen,  I 
am  very  much  obliged  to  you  for  the  care  you  have 
given  to  public  duties  up  to  this  time,  but  I  shall  not 
need  your  services  any  longer."  From  that  time  Richard 
took  the  government  on  himself. 

At  first  everything  went  well.  The  king  had  some 
years  before  this  married  Anne*  of  Bohemia,  called 
"The  Good  Queen  Anne,"  on  account  of  her  kind  and 
charitable  disposition.  At  her  death,  wishing  to  preserve 
peace  with  France,  he  married  a  child  of  eight  years  old,. 
Isabella,  the  daughter  of  Charles  VI.,  called  "the  Little 
Queen." 

One  of  the  frequent  invasions  of  England  by  Scotland 
at  this  time  resulted  in  the  battle  of  Otterburn,  which 
forms  the  subject  of  Chevy  Chase,  one  of  the  best-known 
of  the  old  English  ballads.  Both  sides  claimed  the  vic- 
tory, the  English  because  the  bravest  Scot,  Lord  Douglas, 
was  killed,  the  Scotch  because  they  took  prisoner  Henry 
Percy  (surnamed  Hotspur  from  his  fiery  temper),  son  of 
the  Earl  of  Northumberland.  On  the  whole,  the  Scots 
had  rather  the  best  of  it. 

It  was  not  until  the  last  two  years  of  Richard's  reign 
that  the  faults  lying  concealed  in  his  character  began  to- 
show  themselves.  He  is  accused  of  causing  the  death 
of  the  Duke  of  Gloucester,  whom  he  had  always  disliked ; 
but  a  more  serious  offence  was  his  dispensing  with  a  Par- 
liament and  replacing  it  by  a  committee  dependent  on 

*  Pronounced  "Ann,"  not  "An-ne. " 


RICHARD  II.     WAT  TYLER.    BOLINGBROKE.    14£ 

himself.  Forced  loans,  the  sale  of  pardons,  refusing  jus- 
tice except  on  payment  of  bribes,  all  followed;  but  noth- 
ing could  supply  his  boundless  extravagance.  He  is- 
said  to  have  employed  ten  thousand  persons  in  his 
household,  three  hundred  of  them  being  in  the  royal 
kitchen.  We  read  also  of  gorgeous  apparel,  of  superb 
furniture,  of  costly  jewels.  To  crown  all,  he  estranged 
from  himself,  by  caprice  and  injustice,  the  most  powerfttf 
subject  in  the  kingdom. 

His  cousin,  Henry  Bolingbroke,  son  of  John  of  Gaunt, 
had  a  quarrel  with  the  Duke  of  Norfolk,  and  the  king 
allowed  them  to  try  the  "wager  of  battle."  The  cham- 
pions are  mounted,  ready  to  begin  the  fight;  the  king 
and  queen,  with  as  many  lords  and  ladies  as  can  gain 
admittance  to  the  raised  seats  around  the  lists,  are 
in  place,  the  challenge  is  given  and  returned,  when 
suddenly,  just  as  the  spears  are  in  rest  and  the  impatient 
horses  ready  to  start,  the  king  throws  his  "warder,"  or 
sceptre,  on  the  ground  and  the  heralds  cry  "Stop!" 
This  means  that  there  will  be  no  fight  that  day.  Then 
the  capricious  Richard,  without  any  decision  as  to  which 
is  right  in  the  quarrel,  banishes  his  cousin  Bolingbroke 
for  ten  years  and  the  Duke  of  Norfolk  for  life.* 

The  people  had  despised  the  king,  before;  now  they 
hated  him,  for  Bolingbroke  was  their  idol.  The  bitter 
feeling  was  increased  when  at  John  of  Gaunt's  death, 
three  month's  after  his  son's  exile  began,  Richard  seized 
all  his  vast  possessions.  Having  suddenly  determined 
to  go  to  Ireland  to  put  down  a  rebellion  there,  he  heard 
mass  with  his  little  queen,  and  then,  lifting  her  up  in  his 
arms,  he  kissed  her,  saying,  "Adieu,  madam,  till  we  meet 

*See  Shakspeare's  play  of  "Richard  II." 


144  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

again."  The  people  of  London  said :  "Now  goeth 
Richard  of  Bordeaux  to  his  destruction.  He  will  never 
return  again  with  joy,  no  more  than  did  Edward  the 
Second,  his  great-grandfather,  who  was  foolishly  gov- 
erned by  too  much  believing  of  the  Despensers."  The 
parallel  was  remarkably  just.  Richard  had  bad  luck  in 
Ireland;  he  did  not  succeed  in  his  expedition,  and  he 
was  detained  for  several  weeks  by  contrary  winds.  In 
the  meantime,  Bolingbroke  had  arrived  on  the  coast 
of  Yorkshire,  in  England,  with  an  army.  Although  he 
declared  that  he  came  only  to  demand  his  father's 
estates,  he  marched  through  the  land  like  a  conqueror. 
Towns  and  castles  everywhere  opened  their  gates  to 
him.  Even  the  Duke  of  York,  the  Regent  in  Richard's 
absence,  went  over  to  him  with  his  soldiers.  Richard 
wandered  about  helplessly  from  place  to  place,  losing 
strength  as  his  adversary  was  gaining  it,  and  the  army 
which  a  faithful  friend  had  gathered  together  to  help  him 
dispersed  because  "they  could  hear  no  tidings  of  the 
king."  The  net  was  closing  around  him.  Betrayed  by 
false  information,  he  rode  directly  into  an  ambush  of  his 
enemies,  and  the  Earl  of  Northumberland  took  him 
prisoner  and  lodged  him  in  Flint  Castle. 

Bolingbroke  was  soon  on  the  ground.  He  met 
>  Richard  with  an  appearance  of  respect,  but  carried  him 
to  London  and  shut  him  up  in  the  Tower,  where  he  was 
compelled  to  sign  his  abdication.  Then  a  Parliament 
was  summoned  to  meet  at  Westminster  Hall  for  his 
deposition — that  very  Westminster  Hall  which  he  had 
remodelled  and  beautified,  making  it  very  much  what  we 
see  it  now-  He  was  accused  of  the  murder  of  his  uncle, 
the  Duke  of  Gloucester,  of  the  execution  of  several  of  his 


RICHARD  II.     WAT  TYLER.    BOLINGBROKE.    145 

own  subjects,  and  of  answering  when  asked  to  do  justice 
according  to  the  law,  "The  laws  are  in  my  mouth;  I 
alone  can  make  and  change  them;  the  life  of  every  one 
of  my  subjects  and  his  lands  and  goods  are  at  my  will 
and  pleasure."  It  was  also  charged  against  him  that  he 
was  "so  variable  and  dissembling  that  no  man  living, 
who  knew  him,  could  or  would  trust  him."  Richard  was 
then  formally  deposed  by  the  parliament;  Henry  of  Lan- 
caster came  forward  and  took  the  usual  oaths,  after  which 
the  archbishops  of  Canterbury  and  York  led  him  up  GO 
the  throne,  "all  the  people  wonderfully  shouting  for. 
joy"  (1399)- 

During  the  latter  half  of  the  fourteenth  century,  many 
new  ideas  had  been  stirring  in  the  minds  of  the  people. 
It  often  happens  that  political  and  religious  reforms  go 
hand  in  hand.  The  desire  for  freedom  of  thought  be- 
longs naturally  with  the  demand  for  other  kinds  of 
freedom,  and  the  age  which  produced  Wat  Tyler's 
rebellion  was  also  the  age  of  John  Wycliffe.  This 
earliest  reformer  not  only  fearlessly  exposed  the  corrup- 
tions of  the  Church  and  the  avarice  and  tyranny  of  the 
Pope,  but  uttered  doctrines  declared  to  be  heretical 
— that  is,  not  such  as  the  Church  believed.  His  fol- 
lowers received  the  name  of  Lollards,  for  some  reason 
not  now  understood,  and  soon  became  so  numerous  as 
to  form  a  very  important  sect.  John  of  Gaunt  openly 
sympathized  with  them,  as  did  the  Princess  of  Wales 
(widow  of  the  Black  Prince)  and  Richard's  queen,  Anne 
of  Bohemia.  The  poet  Chaucer  is  also  supposed  to  have 
belonged  among  them.  Wycliffe  was  tried  for  heresy, 
but  received  no  further  harm  than  being  turned  out 
of  the  University  of  Oxford.  His  great  work  lay  not 
10 


146  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

<  ^ 

only  in  preaching  new  doctrines  and  stirring  people  ur> 
to  purer  lives,  but  in  making  the  first  complete  transla- 
tion of  the  Bible  into  English.  The  clergy  in  general 
frowned  upon  this  because  it  led  people  to  the  adoption 
of  the  Bible,  instead  of  the  authority  of  the  Church,  as  a 
rule  of  faifh;  but  to  the  masses  it  was  like  cold  water  to- 
a  thirsty  soul,  and  it  was  received  with  thrilling  eager- 
ness and  read  from  one  end  of  the  land  to  the  other. 
There  were  no  printed  books  then,  but  copies  made  by 
hand  were  multiplied  through  the;  industry  of  willing  tran- 
scribers until  there  were  few  persons  in  England  able  to 
read  who  could  not  in  some  way  find  the  means  of 
getting  at  the  translation. 

The  aristocrats  of  learning  were  by  no  means  pleased 
with  the  new  order  of  things.  "Scripture  is  become 
a  vulgar  thing,"  wrote  a  priest  of  the  day,  "more  open 
now  to  men  and  women  who  know  how  to  read  than  it 
was  wont  to  be  to  clerks  themselves."*  But  in  spite  of 
all  opposition  the  doctrines  of  Wycliffe  grew  and  pre- 
vailed. 

*  "Vulgar"  means  common  to  all;  thus  the  translation  of  the 
Bible  into  Latin  was  called  the  "Vulgate"  because  it  was  in  the 
common  tongue.  "Clerks"  (clerics)  means  here  the  clergy,  who 
had  been  until  this  century  almost  the  only  persons  who  had  any 
knowledge  of  books.  A  learned  man  of  any  profession  was  called 
a  clerk. 


HENRY  IV.      SHREWSBURY.      HENRY  V.       147 
CHAPTER  XVIII. 

HENRY    IV.       SHREWSBURY.       HENRY   V. 

|ENRY  IV.  was  a  usurper  in  a  double  sense ;  for 
not  only  had  he  supplanted  Richard,  the 
reigning  king,  but  he  had  taken  the  place 
of  the  heir  presumptive.*  This  was  a  grandson  of 
Lionel,  Duke  of  Clarence,  third  son  of  Edward  III. 
Lionel's  daughter,  Philippa,  had  married  the  Earl  of 
March,  a  descendant  of  Roger  Mortimer,  and  their  son, 
Edmund  Mortimer,  was  the  lineal  successor  to  Richard  II. 
But  he  was  a  child  only  seven  years  old,  and  the  English 
Parliament  exercised  its  right  in  passing  him  over  and 
bestowing  the  crown  on  his  cousin,  the  Duke  of 
Lancaster. 

But  little  is  known  of  the  fate  of  the  unfortunate 
Richard  II.  It  is  certain  that  he  was  kept  a  prisoner 
for  several  months,  being  removed  from  the  Tower  in 
London  to  Pontefract  (Pomfret)  Castle.  A  conspiracy 
being  formed  to  replace  him  on  the  throne,  Henry  IV. 
settled  the  matter  by  causing  him  to  be  murdered,  and 
then  exhibiting  his  body  in  London  so  that  there  could 
be  no  question  as  to  the  fact  of  his  death.  As  has  often 
happened  in  such  cases,  a  report  arose  that  Richard  had 
escaped,  some  other  dead  body  being  shown  as  his;  but 
there  is  no  doubt  that  his  life,  as  well  as  his  crown,  was 
sacrificed  to  Henry's  ambition  (1400). 

*  A  person  who  will  succeed  to  the  crown  if  no  one  shall  be  born 
having  a  better  right.  "Heir-apparent"  is  the  person  who  will 
succeed  unless  he  dies  before  the  reigning  sovereign. 


148  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

The  poor  little  widow-queen  was  sent  home  to  France 
(without  her  jewels  and  her  dower),  and  for  seven  years 
refused  all  offers  of  marriage;  but  was  at  last  induced 
to  wed  the  Duke  of  Orleans,  brother  of  the  king  of 
France,  and  the  finest  French  poet  of  his  time,  who  has 
left  some  charming  verses  about  her,  entitled  (in  the 
English  translation),  "The  Fairest  Thing  in  Mortal 
Eyes." 

The  early  years  of  Henry's  reign  were  stained  by  a 
persecution  of  the  Lollards,  who  had  now  become  a 
numerous  and  powerful  sect.  William  Sawtry,  a  clergy- 
man, was  burnt  alive  for  heresy,  being  the  first  person  to 
suffer  death  in  England  for  this  cause.  Other  forms  of 
punishment  were  used,  such  as  imprisonment,  branding 
on  the  cheek,  and  whatever  tortures  might  be  supposed 
to  lead  men  to  repent  of  thinking  differently  from  those 
around  them;  and  for  a  time  the  so-called  "heresy" 
apparently  died  out,  to  reappear  in  the  next  century 
as  the  doctrine  of  the  English  church  and  the  law  of 
the  land. 

The  most  notable  feature  of  Henry  IV. 's  reign  was  a 
series  of  conspiracies  against  him,  which  seemed  to  those 
about  him  a  judgment  on  his  unjust  dealings  with  his 
predecessor,  Richard.  The  first  one,  already  mentioned, 
was  put  down  with  great  severity,  all  the  persons  con- 
cerned in  it  being  executed  for  treason;  but  the  sub- 
sequent plots  were  more  wide-spread,  and  ended  in 
an  appeal  to  arms. 

The  conspirators  represented  the  three  countries  which 
make  up  the  island  of  Great  Britain.  The  Earl  of  Nor- 
thumberland and  his  son  Harry  Percy  (the  "Hotspur" 
of  Otterburn),  headed  the  disaffected  English;  the  Earl 


HENR  Y  IV.      SHRE  WSB  UR  Y.      ffENR  Y  V.       149 

of  Douglas  brought  an  army  of  Scots,  and  a  Welshman 
named  Owen  Glendower,  who  was  trying  to  make  his 
country  once  more  independent  of  England,  had  raised 
a  large  force  in  Wales.  There  had  lately  been  a  battle 
with  the  Scots  at  Homildon  Hall,  where  the  Earl  of 
Douglas  had  been  made  prisoner  by  Hotspur,  and  the 
latter  gave  him  his  liberty  that  they  might  together  make 
common  cause  against  the  enemy. 

The  three  armies  were  to  meet  at  Shrewsbury,  but 
Henry  was  too  quick  for  them.  He  attacked  the  forces 
before  Glendower  came  up,  and  while  Northumberland 
with  a  part  of  his  command  was  still  on  the  way,  and 
gained  a  complete  victory.  He  and  his  son  Henry, 
Prince  of  Wales,  fought  desperately;  the  brave  Hotspur 
was  killed,  and  Douglas  taken  prisoner.  Henry  did  not 
show  a  revengeful  spirit  after  his  victory.  Some  of  the 
principal  offenders  were  beheaded,  but  the  Earl  of 
Northumberland  was  pardoned,  and  a  general  amnesty 
was  issued  to  the  common  soldiers. 

In  Shakspeare's  two  plays  of  Henry  IV.,  we  find 
all  these  circumstances  treated  in  the  most  picturesque 
manner.  He  is  not  always  correct  as  to  details,  but  he 
gives  the  spirit  of  the  age,  and  we  remember  the  facts 
better  if  we  read  the  plays  after  studying  the  history. 

It  was  not  long  before  Northumberland  was  again 
engaged  in  a  plot  against  the  king,  this  time  in  the  com- 
pany of  Scroop,  Archbishop  of  York,  who  had  been 
a  party  to  the  previous  rebellion.  This  time  the  rebels 
were  put  down  without  a  battle,  and  the  king,  determined 
to  make  an  enduring  example,  had  the  archbishop  exe- 
cuted. Northumberland  escaped,  and  was  afterward 
killed  in  battle.  Henry  sent  to  the  Pope  the  armor 


150  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

worn  by  Archbishop  Scroop,  with  the  scriptural  message . 
"This  have  we  found;  know  whether  it  be  thy  son's  coat 
or  no." 

The  lawless  character  of  the  time  is  shown  in  the  cap- 
ture of  a  Scottish  ship  (in  time  of  peace)  having  on 
board  the  young  Prince  James  of  Scotland  (afterward 
James  I.),  whom  his  father  was  sending  to  France 
to  keep  him  out  of  the  way  of  enemies  at  home.  Henry 
took  possession  of  this  boy  of  eleven  years  old,  who  was 
kept  for  nineteen  years  a  prisoner  in  England.  He 
received  an  education  suitable  to  his  high  position,  and 
was  kindly  treated,  according  to  the  ideas  of  the  time; 
but  he  would  have  preferred  his  liberty. 

Henry  IV.  was  not  an  old  man  when  he  died,  but 
since  he  became  king  he  had  led  a  hard  life.  Shakspeare 
makes  him  say: 

"Uneasy  lies  the  head  that  wears  a  crown." 

Plots  and  surprises  and  disappointments  at  home  had 
been  his  food  for  the  first  nine  years  of  his  reign,  while 
the  wars  with  France  and  Scotland  were  a  continual 
tainted  seasoning  for  the  rest  of  it.  He  had  lost  the 
popularity  which  he  enjoyed  while  his  people  were  yet 
groaning  under  the  oppression  of  Richard  II.,  and  stood 
in  a  manner  alone.  England  prospered  under  his  gov- 
ernment, and,  as  is  the  case  with  many  kings  whose  title 
is  questionable,  the  knowledge  that  the  hereditary  claim- 
ant was  still  living  and  might  at  any  time  succeed  in 
overturning  his  precarious  seat,  made  him  careful  to  keep 
strictly  within  the  laws  and  on  good  terms  with  Parliament 
— a  circumstance  favorable  to  the  belief  that  those  gov- 
ernments are  best  which  depend  entirely  on  the  consent 
of  the  governed;  that  is,  are  elective  and  not  hereditary. 


HENRY  IV.      SHREWSBURY.      HENRY  V.       151 

Henry  IV.'s  relations  with  his  oldest  son,  the  "Prince 
Hal"  of  Shakspeare,  have  been  the  subject  of  much  dis- 
cussion. The  poet,  following  some  of  the  chronicles, 
makes  the  prince  wild  and  dissipated,  but  this  is  by  no 
means  proved.  It  is  possible,  however,  that  his  father's 
jealousy  may  have  shut  him  out  from  any  active  share  in 
the  government. 

Henry  IV.  had  long  cherished  a  desire  to  visit 
Jerusalem  and  see  for  himself  the  holy  sepulchre,  a 
journey  to  which  was  supposed  to  do  so  much  toward 
atoning  for  the  sins  of  a  life-time;  but  the  cares  of  state 
•did  not  permit  it.  In  the  last  years  of  his  life  he  was 
subject  to  epileptic  fits,  and  one  of  them  came  on  while 
he  was  at  his  devotions  in  the  chapel  of  Edward  the 
Confessor,  at  Westminster.  He  was  carried  into  a  room 
in  the  abbot's  house  near  by,  and  on  coming  to  himself 
asked  where  he  was.  "In  the  Jerusalem  Chamber,"  was 
the  answer.  "I  always  wanted  to  die  in  Jerusalem;  now 
I  shall  have  my  wish,"  said  the  king,  and  soon  afterward 
passed  away,  in  the  forty-sixth  year  of  his  age  and  the 
fourteenth  of  his  reign  (1413). 

Henry  IV.  had  some  fine  qualities;  he  was  prudent, 
energetic,  and  just  in  the  administration  of  the  laws,  and 
if  he  had  acquired  the  crown  in  the  regular  course 
•of  things,  he  might  have  been  one  of  the  favorites  among 
English  kings. 

Henry  V.,  called  from  the  place  of  his  birth,  Henry  of 
Monmouth,  came  to  the  throne  in  the  flush  of  youthful 
vigor  and  national  popularity.  If  any  unworthy  actions 
or  qualities  had  ever  been  attributed  to  him,  they  had  long 
been  forgotten.  He  was  now  twenty -five  years  old, 
handsome,  courteous,  good-humored,  well  educated,  and 


152  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

trained  in  all  soldierly  exercises.*  His  first  acts  showed 
a  generous  spirit.  The  Earl  of  March  (the  true  heir  to- 
the  throne  in  the  eyes  of  many  of  the  people)  was  set  free 
from  imprisonment  and  treated  with  the  greatest  kindness. 
Henry  obtained  the  release  of  young  Percy,  Hotspur's 
son,  who  had  long  been  a  prisoner  in  Scotland;  and  he 
had  the  body  of  Richard  II.  removed  from  its  unhonored 
grave  and  interred  with  royal  state  in  Westminster  Abbey. 
The  horrid  persecution  of  the  Lollards,  shame  to  say,, 
went  on  under  his  sanction. 

In  spite  of  burnings  and  brandings,  the  Lollards  in- 
creased in  number  and  boldly  defied  the  laws  which 
sought  to  silence  them.  For  some  years  an  irregular  war- 
fare was  kept  up  against  them  on  the  ground  of  their 
being  dangerous  to  the  State  as  well  as  to  the  Church, 
and  many  of  them  suffered  death.  Their  leader,  Sir  John 
Oldcastle  (Lord  Cobham)  after  escapes,  reprieves,  and 
many  adventures,  finally  suffered  a  horrible  death,  t  being 
suspended  by  an  iron  belt  over  a  slow  fire,  and  thus 
roasted  to  death  (1418). 

*  There  is  a  statement  that  when  one  of  his  boon  companions  was 
brought  before  Chief- Justice  Gascoigne  for  some  offence,  the  prince 
went  with  him,  and  on  the  judge's  refusal  to  release  the  prisoner 
struck  him  in  the  face.  Upon  this  Gascoigne  committed  the  prince 
for  contempt  of  court,  and  sent  word  to  his  father  that  he  had  done 
so.  The  young  man  went  to  prison  with  a  good  grace,  and  Henry's 
only  comment  on  the  circumstance  was,  "  Happy  is  the  king  who 
has  a  judge  so  firm  in  the  performance  of  duty,  and  a  son  so  willing 
to  submit  to  the  law. "  It  is  a  good  story,  whether  true  or  not. 

It  may  interest  our  young  readers  to  know  that  Richard  Whit- 
tington,  famous  for  the  clever  story  that  some  one  invented  about 
his  cat,  was  Lord  Mayor  of  London  in  Henry  IV's  time. 

tThe  official  record  says  that  he  was  "sweetly  and  modestly  "con- 
demned to  be  burnt  alive. 


HENRY  IV.      SHREWSBURY.      HENRY  V.       153 

A  grim  corner  in  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury's 
palace  at  Lambeth  is  still  called  "The  Lollards'  Tower," 
and  in  the  centre  of  one  of  its  rooms  may  be  seen  a  round 
post  to  which,  it  is  said,  the  prisoners  were  bound  while 
suffering  torture. 

We  turn  from  these  horrors  to  the  other  events  of 
Henry's  short  reign.  He  was  as  ambitious  as  his  great 
grandfather,  Edward  III.,  and  like  him  found  a  promising 
field  in  the  fair  provinces  ot  France,  now  distracted  by  a 
civil  war,  and  always  tempting  to  the  invader.  His 
reasoning  was,  "If  my  ancestors  had  a  right  to  France,  so 
have  I."  (He  ignored  the  other  alternative:  "If  my 
ancestors  had  not,  so  have  not  I.")  Perhaps  he  really 
persuaded  himself  that  France  would  be  a  great  deal 
better  off  under  his  rule  than  torn  by  factions,  the  poor 
crazy  king  and  wicked  queen  and  selfish  nobles  quarrel- 
ing among  themselves  for  the  government.  The  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury  encouraged  him,  in  order,  it  is  said, 
to  keep  him  from  inquiring  into  the  abuses  of  the  Church; 
while  Henry  himself  is  charged  with  wishing  to  distract 
his  people's  attention  from  his  own  doubtful  title.  He 
found  little  difficulty  in  procuring  supplies  for  his  inva- 
sion, for  the  whole  English  nation  was  wild  with  enthu- 
siasm at  the  idea  of  a  war  of  conquest;  and  his  prepara- 
tions were  made  with  great  energy.  Fifteen  hundred  o* 
the  ships  of  that  day  were  required  to  transport  an  army 
that  could  now  be  carried  by  thirty  large  steamships; 
and  when  all  was  ready,  Henry  proceeded  on  his  way  to 
Harfleur  in  Normandy. 


154  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

AGINCOURT.       TREATY  OF  TROVES.       DEATH   OF  HENRY   V. 

JT  required  a  siege  of  five  weeks  to  take  the  town 
of  Harfleur,  in  France,  and  when  it  was  taken 
Henry  had  serious  thoughts  of  abandoning  it 
and  going  home  again.  His  army  was  wasted  by  disease, 
and  the  French,  as  he  heard,  were  collecting  in  great 
numbers  to  oppose  him,  but  he  determined  to  march  to 
his  own  town  of  Calais  and  then  decide  what  it  would 
be  best  to  do. 

The  French  did  not  get  their  army  together  very 
•quickly,  for  they  were  divided  among  themselves,  and 
the  different  parties  hated  each  other  quite  as  much  as 
they  hated  the  English;  perhaps  more.  When  they  were 
ready,  they  sent  to  ask  Henry  by  what  road  he  intended 
to  march.  "By  the  one  that  will  take  me  straight  to 
Calais!"  he  answered,  and  sent  the  messengers  away 
with  a  present  of  a  hundred  crowns.  He  was  not  going 
out  of  his  way  to  find  the  French,  nor  did  he  mean  to 
refuse  to  fight  if  he  met  them.  As  they  neared  the  little 
village  of  Azincourt  (which  the  English  have  changed  to 
Agincourt)  they  saw  the  splendid  French  army  waiting 
for  them  to  come  up.  Henry  sent  his  Welsh  squire,  Davy 
Cram,  to  reconnoitre,  and  asked  him  how  many  French 
he  saw.  "Enough  to  be  killed,  enough  to  be  made 
prisoners,  and  enough  to  run  away,"  said  Davy. 

The  English  army  was  in  poor  condition.  Of  the 
30,000  men  who  had  sailed  from  England  not  more  than 
6,000  were  now  in  fighting  order,  and  these  were  half 


AGINCOURT.       TREATY  OF  TROVES.  155 

starved,  and  tired  with  marching.  (We  have  to  take  the 
English  story  for  these  statements  of  inferior  numbers  in 
the  winning  of  great  victories).  The  French  are  said  to 
have  had  60,000  men.  This  time  the  enemy  had  the 
choice  of  a  position,  but  they  chose  their  ground  badly, 
and  thus  neutralized  the  effect  of  their  greater  numbers. 
King  Henry  heard  some  one  saying  that  he  wished  ten 
thousand  of  the  stout,  idle  men  in  England  might  be  with 
them  that  day.  "Not  so,  friend,"  said  the  king;  "The 
fewer  we  are,  the  greater  glory  we  shall  win.  For  my 
part,  I  would  not  have  a  single  man  more."  The  French 
were  in  high  spirits,  and,  the  chroniclers  tell  us,  spent  the 
night  before  the  battle  in  carousing  and  playing  at  cards 
for  the  prisoners  they  expected  to  take.  No  quarter  was 
to  be  given  to  the  common  soldiers;  but  persons  of  rank 
-were  to  be  held  for  ransom.  The  English,  on  the  con- 
trary, had  a  refreshing  sleep,  except  those  who,  expecting 
this  to  be  their  last  night  on  earth,  spent  it  in  devotion. 
When  the  day  of  battle  came,  Henry  V.,  whose  neces- 
sity seems  to  have  sharpened  his  ingenuity,  directed  that 
each  one  of  the  archers  should  carry,  besides  his  bow  and 
arrows,  a  battle-axe  and  sword,  and  a  stake  pointed  at 
both  ends.  After  having  discharged  their  arrows  they 
were  to  drive  the  stakes  into  the  soft,  damp  ground  with 
their  battle-axes,  and  then  fall  back  and  shoot  again.  The 
stratagem  answered  its  purpose;  the  French,  advancing 
as  the  English  retired,  came  unexpectedly  upon  the  sharp 
points  of  the  stakes  and  fell  into  confusion.  The  fighting 
was  desperate  for  three  hours,  both  sides  doing  wonders 
of  personal  bravery.  At  the  end  of  that  time  the  unman- 
ageable French  army  was  routed  and  fled  from  the  field. 
Their  heavy  armor  was  their  destruction,  while  the  Eng- 


156  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND, 

lish  archers,  who  had  thrown  off  a  great  part  of  their 
clothing,  moved  about  so  easily  from  place  to  place  that 
they  did  frightful  execution  in  the  crowded  ranks  of  their 
enemies. 

The  French  lost  in  this  action,  it  is  computed,  not  less 
than  11,000  killed,  among  whom  were  the  flower  of  their 
nobility.  These  last  are  reported  to  have  despised  the 
common  soldiers,  saying,  "  This  battle  must  be  won  by 
gentlemen!"  On  the  English  side  the  loss  was  compara- 
tively small — some  writers  saying  forty  men  and  some 
1600;  so  we  may  take  our  choice.  The  Duke  of  Or- 
leans, husband  of  England's  "Little  Queen,"  was  one 
of  the  14,000  prisoners  taken  on  this  occasion,  so  the 
English  had  two  captive  poets  at  once,  Prince  James  of 
Scotland  (afterward  James  I.)  being  the  best  English 
poet  of  his  day,  as  the  Duke  of  Orleans  was  the  finest 
French  one. 

Henry  was  in  no  condition  to  follow  up  his  victory. 
After  making  a  truce  with  his  enemies,  he  returned 
to  England,  where  he  was  received  with  such  demon- 
strations of  joy  as  had  never  before  been  made  for  any 
victory.  The  people  could  not  wait  for  him  to  land; 
they  rushed  into  the  water  and  themselves  dragged  the 
ship  to  shore;  the  bells  rang  like  mad;  triumphal  arches 
were  built  across  the  roads,  and  showers  of  roses  and 
laurel  were  strewn  under  the  horses'  feet;  grand  lords 
and  ladies,  splendidly  dressed,  filled  the  windows  and 
balconies,  and  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest  each  strove 
with  the  other  which  should  be  most  extravagant  in 
expressions  of  praise.  In  the  midst  of  all  this  the  king 
rode  quietly  along,  not  looking  at  all  elated,  but  taking 
everything  soberly,  and,  as  an  old  writer  says,  "with 


AGINCOURT.       TREATY  OF   TROVES.  157 

reverent  demeanor."  Perhaps  he  was  thinking  of  the 
heaps  of  dead  he  had  left  behind  him;  perhaps  the 
groans  of  the  dying  still  filled  his  ears;  possibly  he  was 
wondering  how  the  people  would  like  the  burdensome 
taxation  necessary  for  carrying  on  the  war.  At  all 
events,  he  won  "golden  opinions"  for  his  humility  and 
modesty. 

Two  years  after  this,  Henry  was  ready  for  another  in- 
vasion. He  was  determined  to  conquer  Normandy,  the 
•old  possession  of  his  ancestors,  and  the  English  nation 
.again  willingly  contributed  the  means.  In  France  itself, 
the  civil  war  had  reached  a  pitch  of  horror  probably 
without  its  equal  in  the  history  of  any  civilized  country.* 
The  Duke  of  Orleans  (son  of  the  "Little  Queen"  whose 
husband  was  taken  at  Agincourt)  headed  one  party  and 
the  Duke  of  Burgundy  another,  and  as  each  in  succession 
got  the  upper  hand,  the  lawlessness  and  butchery  seemed 
to  increase.  Henry  at  once  laid  siege  to  Rouen,  the 
•capital  of  Normandy,  which  was  defended  by  its  citizens 
until  they  were  starved  out.  "War  has  three  hand- 
maidens ever  waiting  on  her,"  said  he,  "Fire,  Blood,  and 
Famine  ;  and  I  have  chosen  the  meekest  maiden  of  the 
three."  During  the  siege,  fourteen  thousand  country 
people  who  had  taken  refuge  in  the  city  were  thrust  out 
to  die  between  the  walls  and  Henry's  camp;  he  would 
<lo  nothing  for  them.  The  city  at  last  surrendered,  and 
his  army  was  set  free  for  further  conquest. 

While  the  siege  of  Rouen  was  yet  in  progress,  the 
treacherous  murder  of  the  Duke  of  Burgundy  by  a 
follower  of  the  Dauphin  Charles  (son  of  the  insane  king) 

*For  a  detailed  account  of  these  doings,  see  "A  Short  History 
of  France, "  Chapter  XIV. 


158  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

as  they  met  for  a  peaceful  conference,  threw  oil  on  the 
flame  of  civil  strife.  The  son  of  the  murdered  duke, 
wild  for  revenge,  made  an  alliance  with  England,  prom- 
ising Henry  the  sovereignty  of  France  if  he  would  help 
him  against  the  Dauphin.  The  queen,  who  hated  her 
son,  took  part  with  them,  and  a  treaty  was  concluded  at 
Troyes  (1420),  perhaps  the  most  extraordinary  ever 
made  by  any  set  of  people  in  their  senses.  It  was 
agreed  that  Henry  V.,  king  of  England,  should  be 
Regent  of  France  as  long  as  Charles  VI.  lived,  and  king 
of  it  at  his  death,  to  the  exclusion  of  "Charles,  calling 
himself  Dauphin,"  and  that  he  should  marry  the  Princess 
Katherine,  the  French  king's  youngest  daughter,  "with- 
out expense  to  the  said  king  of  France;"  that  is,  he  took 
her  without  a  dowry.  No  wonder  that  the  fair  kingdom 
was  considered  a  sufficient  dot !  The  fact  that  this 
astounding  treaty  was  hailed  with  joy  by  the  French 
people  shows  to  what  misery  they  had  been  reduced  by 
civil  war.  They  knew  Henry  to  be  strong  and  just,  and, 
when  not  opposed,  kind;  and  they  looked  for  a  breath- 
ing-time of  peace.  The  marriage  was  celebrated  at 
once,*  and  the  company  hoped  for  some  festivities 
in  the  way  of  tournaments;  but  the  king  had  other  work 
on  hand,  and  the  next  morning  set  out  at  his  usual 
business  of  besieging  cities  just  as  if  he  had  not  been, 
married  at  all.  He  was  not,  however,  entirely  indifferent 
to  his  wife's  amusement,  for  he  sent  to  England  for  two 
harps,  that  they  might  make  music  together.  When  all 
the  towns  in  Normandy  had  opened  their  gates  to  him, 

*  For  an  amusing  (imaginary)  account  of  the  princess  and  of 
Henry's  courtship,  see  Shakspeare's  "Henry  V.,"  Act.  III.,  Sc.  4, 
and  Act.  V.,  Sc.  2. 


AGINCOURT.       TREATY  OF  TROVES.  15<* 

he  went  back  to  Paris  to  take  formal  possession  of  his 
new  kingdom.  He  assured  the  people  (or  rather  the 
nobles,  for  "the  people"  were  not  to  be  seen,  any  more 
than  the  cart-horses)  that  he  would  love  and  honor  the 
king  of  France,  and  that  the  ocean  should  cease  to  flow 
and  the  sun  no  more  give  light  before  he  should  forget 
the  duty  a  monarch  owed  to  his  subjects.  There  was  a 
splendid  feast  held.  To  be  sure,  the  same  accounts  tell 
us  that  the  poor  were  dying  of  starvation  by  hundreds 
and  the  streets  were  full  of  little  children  crying  aloud 
for  bread;  but  perhaps  some  crumbs  of  the  feast  may 
have  fallen  to  them.  As  the  fountains  "ran  wine,"  we 
may  hope  that  more  important  needs  were  satisfied 
at  the  same  time. 

And  how  fared  England  all  this  while?  It  was  gradu- 
ally becoming  drained,  not  only  of  its  money,  but  of  its 
men,  a  more  precious  possession  than  money.  Those 
of  note  and  ability  were  crowding  into  Normandy, 
to  settle  on  the  confiscated  estates  liberally  bestowed  by 
Henry  on  his  favorites,  and  there  was  such  great  danger 
that  England  would  in  time  sink  into  a  mere  dependency 
of  France  that  it  was  thought  necessary  to  make  special 
laws  against  this  possibility.  It  was  a  reversal  of  the 
situation  which  existed  under  William  the  Conqueror. 
Then  the  Normans  forsook  their  pleasant  land  to  receive 
as  gifts  the  estates  of  conquered  Saxons;  now  the  de- 
scendants of  both  deserted  their  homes  in  England 
to  enrich  themselves  on  the  spoils  of  France.  It  was 
fortunate  for  the  island  country  that  the  conquest  was. 
not  a  permanent  one. 

Henry  now  went  back  to  England  to  obtain  a  supply 
of  money  from  Parliament  This  the  Commons  granted 


160  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

without  hesitation,  in  order  that,  as  they  said,  "the  cities 
and  provinces  now  in  arms  against  the  king  being  sub- 
dued, France  might  be  entirely  annexed  to  the  English 
crown."  They  also  made  some  provisions  to  avoid  the 
possibility  that,  on  the  other  hand,  England  might  be 
annexed  to  the  French  crown;  but  they  showed  their 
confidence  in  him  by  giving  him  all  that  he  desired. 

An  anecdote  is  told  of  this  time  which  shows  that  "the 
wager  of  battle"  was  not  favored  by  the  king.  Two  men 
having  applied  to  him  for  permission  to  fight  in  single 
combat,  their  neighbors  begged  that  the  request  might 
be  denied.  "No!"  said  Henry,  "they  are  welcome  to 
fight  it  out ;  but  if  one  is  killed  I  shall  hang  the  other  for 
murder."  It  was  surely  not  during  this  reign  that  duel- 
ling became  again  popular. 

Once  more  did  Henry  set  out  for  France,  with  an  army 
superbly  appointed  and  in  the  highest  spirits.  After 
some  months  of  hard  fighting,  during  which  he  succeeded 
in  driving  the  Dauphin's  army  into  the  South,  he  was 
cheered  by  the  arrival  of  Queen  Katherine  with  an  infant 
son,  born  at  Windsor  Castle.  But  his  career  was  almost 
over.  In  the  midst  of  a  triumphant  campaign  he  was 
attacked  by  a  mortal  disease,  and  after  a  short  illness 
died  at  Vincennes,  in  the  thirty-fifth  year  of  his  age  and 
the  tenth  of  his  reign  (1422). 

His  dying  commands  were  characteristic.  He  desired 
his  brothers  on  no  account  to  release  the  Duke  of  Orleans 
{taken  at  Agincourt  and  still  a  prisoner  in  England)  until 
his  own  son  Henry  should  be  of  age,  and  not  to  make 
peace  with  France  without  obtaining  at  least  Normandy 
for  England;  and  he  solemnly  declared  that  it  had  been 
his  intention,  as  soon  as  the  "troubles"  in  France  were 


AGINCOURT.       TREATY  OF  TROVES.  161 

over,  to  undertake  a  crusade  for  the  recovery  of  Jerusa- 
lem. So  hard  was  it  even  at  that  late  day,  to  let  go  of 
the  old  idea. 

There  are  few  characters  in  history  which  stand  in  as 
strong  a  light  as  does  that  of  Henry  V.,  and  yet  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  form  an  entirely  just  idea  of  him.  He  was  the 
idol  of  his  own  people,  who  could  not  find  a  fault  in  him; 
and  in  France  he  was  in  many  parts  of  the  country  wel- 
comed as  a  deliverer.  Individual  instances  of  cruelty 
must  without  doubt  be  charged  against  him,  but  it  is  not 
fair  to  judge  the  actions  of  almost  five  hundred  years  ago 
by  the  standard  of  today.  It  seemed,  not  only  to  Henry 
but  to  most  of  the  thinking  men  in  his  own  country,  that 
his  claim  on  France  was  a  just  one;  and,  this  being 
allowed,  all  else  followed  as  a  matter  of  course.  In  his 
private  character  he  had  his  full  share  of  virtues ;  he  was 
kind,  generous,  faithful,  considerate  of  others,  and  of 
refined  tastes.  In  his  public  acts  he  was  upright  and 
reasonable,  and  had  the  strong  intellect  and  clear  judg- 
ment which  enabled  him  to  form  wise  plans  and  to  carry 
them  out  effectually.  Shakspeare's  play,  "Henry  V." 
although  eulogy  from  beginning  to  end,  only  faithfully 
reflects  the  feelings  universal  in  Henry's  own  time. 


11 


162  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

CHAPTER  XX. 

HENRY   VI.       WAR    IN    FRANCE.      JACK   CADE. 

BABY  of  nine  months  old  was  now,  according  to- 
the  language  of  the  world,  king  of  two  mighty 
countries.  He  received  the  homage  of  Parlia- 
ment sitting  on  his  mother's  lap;  and  was  formally  turned 
over  to  the  care  of  a  governess,  Dame  Alice  Boteler,  with 
orders,  issued  in  his  own  name,  "from  time  to  time  rea- 
sonably to  chastise  us,  as  the  case  may  require."  Queen 
Katherine,  a  frivolous  and  cold-hearted  woman,  married 
secretly,  soon  after  her  husband's  death,  a  Welsh  gentle- 
man named  Owen  Tudor,*  and,  as  far  as  appears,  cared 
nothing  more  for  her  son. 

Henry  V.'s  next  younger  brother,  John,  Duke  of  Bed- 
ford, a  man  of  great  ability  and  of  unblemished  character, 
was  made  regent  of  France;  the  second  brother,  Hum- 
phrey of  Gloucester,  a  rash  and  hot-tempered  person, 
became  Protector  of  England,  and  Cardinal  Beaufort,  a 
half-brother  of  Henry  IV.,  was  appointed  personal  guar- 
dian of  the  boy-king.  All  this  was  not  accomplished 
without  much  wrangling,  which  was  typical  of  Henry 
VI. 's  whole  reign;  and  the  gentlest  and  most  peaceful  of 
men,  as  he  turned  out  to  be,  grew  up  amid  scenes  of  con- 
tinual quarreling  and  bloodshed. 

Charles  VI.  of  France,  whose  life  had  been  only  one 
long  scene  of  misery,  survived  his  great  son-in-law  but 
two  months.  He  missed  the  unvarying  kindness  and 

*  The  son  of  Owen  Tudor  and  Katherine  was  father  of  Henry 
VII.  the  first  Tudor  king  of  England. 


HENRY  VI.     WAR  IN  FRANCE.    JACK  CADE.    163 

consideration  which  Henry  was  almost  alone  in  showing 
him,  and  dropped  into  the  grave  unnoticed  except  for  the 
tears  and  lamentations  of  the  poor,  and  the  respectful 
attendance  of  the  Duke  of  Bedford.  His  worthless  queen 
soon  sank  into  the  neglect  she  merited,  and  died  at  last, 
unhonored  by  rich  or  poor. 

Among  the  chief  mourners  at  Henry  V.'s  funeral  was 
one  whose  fate  has  been  the  subject  of  many  a  romance 
—King  James  I.  of  Scotland.*  Two  years  after  this  he 
was  set  free  on  payment  of  a  large  ransom,  though  the 
word  "ransom"  was  not  used  in  the  treaty,  for  fear  it 
should  raise  a  question  as  to  his  illegal  capture.  The 
sum  demanded  was  stated  to  be  for  his  "maintenance" — 
that  is,  his  board,  lodging,  and  education.  While  in  Eng- 
land, he  had  fallen  in  love  with  Jane  Beaufort,  niece  of 
the  Cardinal,  whom  he  had  first  seen  when  he  was  a  cap- 
tive in  Windsor  Castle;  and  his  poem  called  "The  King's 
Quair"  records  the  story  of  his  love  for  her.  When  he 
went  back  to  Scotland  he  took  her  with  him  as  his  qneen, 
and  the  first  year's  instalment  of  the  sum  to  be  paid  for 
his  "maintenance"  was  remitted  as  her  wedding  portion. 

Although  the  persecution  of  the  Lollards  had  nearly 
died  out  by  this  time,  owing  to  the  pressure  of  other 
matters,  one  effort  of  parting  rage  deserves  to  be  men- 
tioned. At  a  council  held  thirteen  years  before,  it  had 
been  decreed  that  the  body  of  John  Wycliffe  should  be 
"taken  from  the  ground  and  thrown  far  away  from  the 
burial  of  any  church;"  and  in  1328  this  sentence  was 
carried  into  effect.  His  body  was  dragged  out  from  its 
grave  in  Lutterworth  church-yard,  burnt  to  ashes  and  the 
ashes  thrown  into  a  brook.  "So,"  says  Fuller,  writing 

*  See  especially  Miss  Yonge's  story  of  "  The  Caged  Lion. " 


164  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

two  hundred  years  later,  "they  did  convey  his  ashes  into 
Avon;  Avon  into  Severn;  Severn  into  the  narrow  seas 
[/.^.Bristol  Channel];  they  into  the  main  ocean.  And 
thus  the  ashes  of  Wycliffe  are  the  emblem  of  his  doc- 
trine, which  is  now  dispersed  all  the  world  over." 

All  this  time  the  war  was  going  on  in  France.  In  a 
general  way,  the  Duke  of  Bedford  was  master  of  northern 
France,  and  the  Dauphin  (for  so  Charles  VII.  continued 
to  be  called  for  many  years),  of  southern  France ;  and  in 
order  to  conquer  the  latter,  it  was  necessary  for  the  Eng- 
lish to  obtain  possession  of  the  town  of  Orleans.  It  was 
while  they  were  besieging  this  that  the  famous  "Battle  of 
the  Herrings"  took  place.  Bedford  had  sent  down  a 
quantity  of  salted  herrings,  the  season  being  Lent,  for  the 
soldiers  around  Orleans.  This  convoy  was  met  by  a 
detachment  of  the  enemy,  and,  the  herring-barrels  being 
broken  up  by  the  cannon,  the  fish  were  scattered  over 
the  field.  The  assailants  were  finally  driven  away,  and 
as  many  fish  as  could  be  collected  were  shovelled  into 
wagons  and  conveyed  to  the  English  camp. 

Meantime  the  defenders  of  the  city  were  in  danger  of1 
famine.  They  were  already  put  on  short  allowance,  and 
had  begun  to  discuss  the  question  of  a  surrender,  when 
deliverance  came  to  them  in  an  unexpected  manner. 

In  the  village  of  Domremy  on  the  borders  of  Lorraine, 
in  France,  lived  a  young  peasant  girl  named  Jeanne 
Dare,  who  had  been  accustomed  to  spend  much  time 
alone  in  the  fields,  and  who  fancied  that  she  heard  there 
supernatural  voices  commanding  her  to  free  her  country 
from  the  English.  Having  with  great  difficulty  obtained 
the  consent  of  the  Dauphin  to  take  command  of  a  troop 
of  soldiers,  she  dressed  herself  in  shining  white  armor 


HENRY  VI.     WAR  IN  FRANCE.    JACK  CADE.    165 

and  set  out  on  her  mission,  carrying  in  her  hand  a  conse- 
crated banner  and  wearing  (never  using)  a  curious  old 
sword  supposed  to  have  peculiar  powers.  At  the  head 
of  her  band  of  soldiers  she  rode  boldly  into  the  city  of 
Orleans,  while  a  feigned  attack  of  the  garrison  drew  off 
the  attention  of  one  part  of  the  English  army,  and  the 
rest  stood  looking  stupidly  on,  believing  her  to  be  a 
witch.  A  few  days  later,  having  succeeded  in  inspiring 
the  French  garrison  with  a  portion  of  her  own  courage, 
she  led  them  against  the  English  fortifications  surround- 
ing the  city.  The  attack  was  successful;  and  the  enemy 
were  so  disheartened,  and  so  terrified  at  the  idea  of  her 
supposed  mysterious  powers  that  it  was  thought  it  more 
prudent  to  raise  the  siege.  From  this  time  Jeanne  Dare 
(Joan  of  Arc,  in  English)  is  known  by  the  title  of  the 
Maid  of  Orleans.* 

In  thus  delivering  the  city  of  Orleans,  only  half  of 
Jeanne's  work  was  done;  she  was  yet  to  crown  the  king 
at  Rheims.  The  lazy,  selfish  Charles  VII.  had  to  be 
dragged  to  the  place  by  the  most  urgent  persuasions; 
but  she  did  get  him  there  at  last  and  he  was  crowned  in 
the  old  cathedral.  Then  she  begged  to  be  allowed  to  go 
home  and  to  be  once  more  a  simple  peasant  girl.  But 
she  was  too  valuable  to  be  spared,  and  was  forced,  sorely 
against  her  will,  to  continue  in  the  military  service. 

After  a  while  the  enthusiasm  in  regard  to  her  died  out, 
especially  when  it  was  found  that  she  did  not  always  lead 
the  army  to  victory.  It  was  about  two  years  after  her 
first  appearance  at  Orleans  that  her  last  battle  was  fought. 
The  French  army  had  been  defending  the  town  of  Com- 
piegne  against  the  English,  and  after  a  fight  outside  the 

*Or'le-ans;  pronounced  in  three  syllables,  accentuating  the  first. 


166  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

walls  had  hastily  retreated  within  the  gates.  Among  the 
few  who  did  not  succeed  in  getting  in  was  Jeanne.  It 
was  said  that  the  governor  did  this  on  purpose,  but  it  may 
not  have  been  so.  She  was  taken  to  the  Burgundian 
camp  (for  Burgundy  was  still  in  alliance  with  the  English) 
and  was  afterward  given  up  to  the  Duke  of  Bedford  for  a 
sum  of  money.  As  she  was  only  a  prisoner  of  war,  and 
could  not,  in  common  decency,  be  punished  for  defend- 
ing her  country  against  its  enemies,  the  cruel  plan  was 
devised  of  turning  her  over  to  the  bishops  to  be  dealt 
with  as  a  heretic.  After  a  year  of  suffering  from  the 
fiendish  devices  of  her  tormentors,  she  was  burnt  alive  in 
the  market-place  of  Rouen;  the  French  bishop  of  Beau- 
vais  and  the  English  Cardinal  Beaufort  looking  on  with 
satisfaction.  "Jesus!"  was  the  last  word  that  passed  her 
lips. 

The  miserable,  selfish  wretch,  Charles,  king  of  the 
country  for  which  she  had  done  all  this,  knew  just  what 
was  going  on  and  did  not  lift  a  finger  to  save  her.  It  has 
been  said  in  excuse  that  he  had  never  believed  in  her  so- 
called  mission.  Perhaps  not,  but  he  had  made  use  of 
her  so  long  as  she  served  his  purpose,  and  he  knew  that 
she  believed  in  herself.  As  for  the  English — the  people 
who  had  dug  up  Wycliffe's  bones  and  burned  them  forty- 
five  years  after  his  death,  and  roasted  Lord  Cobham 
alive  over  a  slow  fire,  were  not  likely  to  be  much  moved 
or  shamed  by  the  inhuman  torture  of  a  helpless  French 
peasant* 

The  affairs  of  the  English  in  France  did  not  get  on 
well  after  this.  The  Duke  of  Burgundy  deserted  them 

*  For  a  full  account  of  poor  Jeanne's  most  interesting  story,  see 
"A  Short  History  of  France,"  Chapter  XV. 


HENRY  VI.     WAR  IN  FRANCE.    JACK  CADE.    167 

and  went  back  to  France,  his  natural  ally;  the  Duke  of 
Bedford  died,  worn  out  with  hard  work  at  forty-five  years 
old;  and  in  1453  the  last  English  soldier,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  garrison  at  Calais,  was  driven  from  the  soil  of 
France. 

The  Hundred  Years'  War  was  at  an  end.  Begun  in 
injustice,  continued  by  oppression,  revived  through  ambi- 
tion, it  closed  in  humiliation  and  disgrace,  leaving  both 
countries  the  poorer  in  men  and  money  and  good  feeling, 
and  the  richer  in  nothing  but  dear-bought  experience. 

We  have  followed  the  war  in  France  to  its  completion, 
but  must  now  go  back  some  ten  years  to  look  at  the 
affairs  of  England  during  that  time.  King  Henry  VI. 
had  grown  up  to  be  a  man;  a  mild-tempered,  inoffensive 
person,  completely  ruled  by  others,  and  having  no  wish 
to  act  or  think  for  himself.  As  was  unavoidable  in  such 
a  case,  the  stronger  natures  about  him  engaged  in  per- 
petual warfare  for  the  control  of  affairs;  and  of  these  his 
uncle  the  Duke  of  Gloucester  (called  "the  good  Duke 
Humphrey)  and  Cardinal  Beaufort  were  the  principal 

In  order  to  gain  the  consent  of  the  king  of  France  to 
Henry  VI. 's  marriage  with  Margaret  of  Anjou,  the  Duke 
of  Suffolk,  Henry's  ambassador,  offered  to  give  up  the 
provinces  of  Maine  and  Anjou,  which  the  English  still 
held  in  that  country.  Gloucester,  of  course,  disapproved 
of  such  an  unheard  of  arrangement,  and  his  opposition 
made  Margaret  his  enemy  for  life.  She  was  a  beautiful 
girl  of  fifteen,  and  possessed  of  a  spirit  and  determina- 
tion far  beyond  her  years.  She  and  Suffolk  soon  formed 
a  close  intimacy,  and  the  ruin  of  Gloucester  was  resolved 
upon.  He  had  before  this  time  been  attacked  through 
his  wife,  who  was  accused  of  witchcraft.  It  was  declared 


168  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

that  she  had  in  her  possession  a  wax  figure  of  the  king, 
prepared  with  magic  ceremonies,  which  she  caused  slowly 
to  melt  away  before  a  fire;  and  that  as  it  diminished  the 
king's  health  and  strength  were  decaying  in  like  propor- 
tion. She  was  condemned  to  do  penance  by  walking  on 
three  different  days  through  the  streets  of  London  wrap- 
ped in  a  white  sheet  with  a  lighted  taper  in  her  hand,  and 
then  to  be  shut  up  in  prison  for  life.  About  two  years 
after  Margaret's  arrival  in  England  the  Duke  of  Glouces- 
ter was  murdered,  as  was  supposed,  by  Suffolk's  orders; 
and  the  queen's  minister  became  so  unpopular  that  to 
save  his  life,  Henry  sent  him  out  of  the  country.  As  he 
was  crossing  the  water  to  Calais,  a  large  ship  called 
"Nicholas  of  the  Tower,"  came  in  sight,  hailed  Suffolk's 
vessel,  and  ordered  him  to  come  on  board.  He  was 
received  with  the  ominous  words,  "Welcome,  traitor !"  and 
lowered  into  a  little  boat  which  carried  an  executioner,  a, 
block  and  a  rusty  sword.  Here  he  was  directed  to  kneel 
down,  with  the  assurance  that  he  should  be  fairly  dealt 
by;  and  with  half  a  dozen  blows  of  the  sword  his  head 
was  cut  off,  after  which  his  body  was  cast  ashore  on 
Dover  sands.* 

One  more  outbreak  of  lawless  violence  closes  this  part 
of  our  history.  The  common  people  of  Kent,  under  a 
leader  called  Jack  Cade,  rose  in  rebellion  against  the 
wretched  misgovernment  which  prevailed  throughout  the 
country,  and  in  the  "complaint"  which  they  presented 
to  the  Royal  Council,  we  notice  a  remarkable  difference 
from  the  demands  of  Wat  Tyler's  time.  There  is  no 
question  now  of  villainage  or  serfage;  Lollardism  is  not 

*  For  a  poetical  account  of  these  circumstances,  see  Shakspeare's 
play  of  "King  Henry  VI."  Second  Part,  first  three  acts. 


HENRY  VI.     WAR  IN  FRANCE.    JACK  CADE.    169 

even  mentioned;  the  cry  is  only  for  less  wasting  of  the 
public  money,  for  freedom  of  elections,  and  for  a  change 
of  ministers.  The  council  would  not  listen  to  the  "com- 
plaint," and  the  rioters  gained  a  victory  over  the  royal 
forces  at  Sevenoaks,  in  Kent,  after  which  they  proceeded 
to  London  and  there  committed  excesses  enough  in  a 
month  to  send  the  whole  20,000  to  the  gallows  if  it  had 
been  worth  while.  Their  leader,  a  low  Irishman,  took 
the  name  of  Mortimer,  claiming  some  connection  with 
the  royal  family,  though  sometimes  calling  himself  Jack 
Amend-all;  he  put  on  the  clothes  of  a  nobleman  whom 
the  rioters  had  killed,  and  paraded  through  London  with 
a  gilt  helmet  and  a  blue  velvet  gown  over  his  armor, 
calling  out  "Mortimer  is  now  lord  of  this  city."  His  men 
attacked  the  Tower,  taking  from  it  Lord  Say,  the  minister 
most  disliked,  who  had  been  sent  there  for  safety, 
and,  after  dragging  him  through  the  streets,  struck  off 
his  head.  Unlike  the  rebels  under  Wat  Tyler,  these 
began  to  plunder  the  city;  and  the  government  becom- 
ing thoroughly  alarmed  offered  a  reward  for  Cade's 
head,  which  was  soon  brought  to  them,  after  which  the 
rebels  dispersed.* 

In  1453,  the  year  of  the  abandonment  of  France,  King 
Henry,  who  had  always  been  weak,  was  seized  with  some 
strange  disease  which  reduced  his  mind  to  total  inactivity, 
while  physically  he  seemed  in  good  health.  This  singular 
state  lasted  for  about  fifteen  months,  when  he  suddenly 
recovered,  but  knew  nothing  that  had  passed  in  the  in- 
terval. His  mental  condition  encouraged  another  claim- 
ant to  the  crown,  and  for  thirty  years  to  come  England 

*  There  is  a  vivid  description  of  this  uprising  in  Shakspeare's 
Second  Part  of  "King  Henry  the  Sixth, "  Act  IV. 


170  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

•was  a  scene  of  conflict  between  the  rival  families  of  York 
and  Lancaster. 

Henry  VI.'s  so-called  reign  lasted  nearly  forty  years ; 
about  three-quarters  of  it  is  covered  by  the  war  with 
France;  then  comes  Jack  Cade's  rebellion;  and  the  re- 
maining part  is  occupied  by  that  great  quarrel  so  unnec- 
essary and  so  destructive,  called  the  Wars  of  the  Roses. 


CHAPTER   XXI. 

THE   WARS    OF   THE    ROSES. 

|HE  Wars  of  the  Roses  have  been  well  called 
"England's  great  business  in  the  fifteenth  cen- 
tury." This  being  the  case,  in  studying  the 
history  of  that  century,  we  must  try  to  understand  the 
state  of  things  which  led  to  this  "business." 

The  three  kings  who  came  after  Richard  II.,  namely, 
Henry  IV.,  Henry  V.,  and  Henry  VI.,  were  descended 
from  John  of  Gaunt,  Duke  of  Lancaster,  and  are  there- 
fore called  Lancastrians.  Now  all  this  time,  the  York 
branch  had,  by  the  rule  of  primogeniture,*  a  better  right 
to  the  throne.  The  Parliament,  however,  (and  the  old 
Witanagemot  before  it)  had  always  claimed  the  right  of 
deciding  who  should  be  king  of  England,  and  therefore 
when  it  set  aside  Edmund  Mortimer,  of  the  York  line, 
and  crowned  Henry  of  Lancaster  (Henry  IV.),  expected 
to  settle  the  matter  once  for  all.  And  there  might  have 
been  a  succession  of  Lancastrian  kings  to  this  day  if  all 

•  The  right  of  the  first-born  to  inherit 


THE    WARS   OF  THE  ROSES.  171 

the  sovereigns  had  been  made  after  the  pattern  of  Henry 
IV.  and  Henry  V.  But  with  an  incapable  king  and  a 
wretchedly  misgoverned  nation  came  a  temptation  to  the 
Duke  of  York  to  take  matters  into  his  own  hands  and 
•claim  a  crown  which  would  certainly  have  been  his  but 
for  the  decision  of  the  Parliament. 

Richard,  Duke  of  York,  was  a  man  of  mark.  He  was 
brave,  able,  kindly  in  disposition,  and  moderate  in  action. 
He  had  already  filled  the  high  post  of  Protector  during 
the  king's  illness,  and  was  through  that  favorably  known 
to  the  nation  at  large.  With  the  king's  recovery  had 
•come  new  ministers,  and  York,  bringing  forward  accusa- 
tions of  misgovernment  against  them,  demanded  reforms. 
Gentle  King  Henry  VI.  said,  when  he  came  to  himself 
after  his  fifteen  months  of  darkness,  that  "he  was  in 
charity  with  all  the  world,  and  so  he  would  that  all 
the  lords  were."  The  lords,  however,  were  very  far 
from  being  in  charity  with  each  other.  The  most  of 
them  were  selfish,  avaricious,  jealous,  grasping  after 
power ;  the  welfare  of  the  country  being  the  last  thing 
that  interested  them.  As  was  natural  in  the  days  when 
a  man  of  high  position  kept  in  his  pay  bands  of  armed 
retainers,  the  different  factions  soon  came  to  open 
fighting;  and  the  first  battle  between  the  Yorkists 
and  the  Lancastrians  was  fought  at  St.  Albans,  May 
22d,  1455. 

If  the  Duke  of  York  (who  had  gained  the  victory,  but 
had  as  yet  made  no  claim  to  the  crown)  could  have 
looked  forward  to  the  events  of  the  next  thirty  years, 
would  he  have  assembled  that  body  of  soldiers  "  to  pro- 
tect himself  against  his  enemies"?  Such  a  prophetic 
vision  would  have  shown  him  his  own  gory  head  set  up 


172  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

over  the  gate  of  his  city  of  York;  three  of  his  four  sons 
dying  violent  deaths;  eighty  princes  of  the  royal  blood 
and  almost  all  the  ancient  nobility  falling  on  the  battle- 
field or  through  revenge  of  the  party  at  the  moment  in 
power,  and  not  less  than  a  hundred  thousand  men 
of  lesser  note  giving  up  their  lives  in  twelve  pitched 
battles — and  all  for  what?  Surely,  he  would  have 
drawn  back  in  awe  from  the  fearful  picture,  and  sac- 
rificed even  what  he  called  his  rights  rather  than  be 
the  author  of  so  much  misery. 

It  was  not  until  three  years  after  the  battle  of  St, 
Albans  that  the  Duke  of  York  brought  forward  his  claim 
to  the  throne.  Up  to  this  time  he  had  professed  the  ut- 
most loyalty  to  King  Henry.  But  in  1458,  what  the  city 
chronicler  calls  "  a  dissimulated  unity  and  concord  "  was- 
brought  about,  and  all  the  rivals  went  together  to  old  St. 
Paul's  Cathedral,  where  the  queen  and  the  Duke  of  York 
walked  hand  in  hand,  and  the  worst  enemies  promised 
to  make  up  and  be  friends.  The  next  year,  however,, 
the  fighting  began  again. 

It  is  not  worth  your  while  to  learn  the  names  of  all  the 
battles  in  this  confusing  war,  so  we  will  notice  only  the 
important  ones.  In  the  battle  of  Northampton,  the  Earl 
of  Warwick,  the  most  powerful  nobleman  in  the  kingdom, 
appeared  on  the  Yorkist  side.  He  is  said  to  have  fed 
30,000  persons  daily  at  his  various  castles,  and  is  called 
"the  king-maker "  from  his  achievements  in  setting  up- 
and  pulling  down  kings.  Queen  Margaret  fled  after  the 
battle,  but  her  husband  was  taken  prisoner  and  con- 
ducted to  London.  A  Parliament  was  called  at  which 
it  was  decided  that  King  Henry  should  keep  the  crown 
during  his  life-time,  and  that  at  his  death  it  should  go  to 


THE    WARS   OF  THE  ROSES,  173 

the  true  heir,  the  Duke  of  York.  The  king  showed 
a  gleam  of  spirit  when  the  decision  was  made  which 
left  out  of  the  question  the  rights  of  his  son.  "My 
father  was  king,"  he  said;  "his  father  also  was  king; 
I  myself  have  worn  the  crown  forty  years  from  my 
cradle;  you  have  all  sworn  fealty  to  me  as  your 
sovereign,  and  your  fathers  have  done  the  like  to  mine. 
How,  then,  can  my  right  be  disputed?"  His  was  per- 
haps the  right,  but  the  other  side  had  surely  the  might, 
and  he  was  obliged  to  submit. 

There  was  one  person  who  had  no  intention  of  sub- 
mitting, and  that  was  Margaret  of  Anjou,  who  raised  an 
army  of  20,000  men  and  defeated  the  duke  at  Wakefield, 
near  York,  He  himself  was  killed  in  the  action.  It  is 
said  that  the  queen  had  his  head  cut  off,  crowned  with  a 
paper  crown,  and  set  on  one  of  the  gates  of  York.  She 
was  a  woman  whom  success  made  mad.  After  the  battle 
of  Wakefield,  she  gave  permission  to  her  army  to  plunder 
the  northern  counties,  and  they  availed  themselves  of  it 
to  the  full.  Churches,  monasteries,  and  private  dwell- 
ings went  down  before  them,  and  Margaret's  name 
became  detested  throughout  the  north.  To  the  credit 
of  the  time  it  must  be  said  that  this  was  the  only 
instance  of  its  kind  during  the  war. 

In  the  second  battle  at  St.  Albans,  Queen  Margaret 
•was  victorious.  We  have  now  one  of  those  strange 
contradictions  with  which  these  wars  are  filled.  The 
Duke  of  York's  eldest  son,  the  Earl  of  March,  who  had 
taken  command  of  the  army  after  his  father's  death,  went 
at  once  to  London,  and  then,  as  if  the  battle  had  been  a 
victory  for  him,  was  proclaimed  king  at  Westminster 
under  the  title  of  Edward  IV.,  the  Parliament  consenting, 


174  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

and  the  people  filling  the  air  with  joyous  acclamations, 
March  4th,  1461. 

This  date  is  generally  considered  to  mark  the  end  of 
Henry  the  Sixth's  reign.  He  lived  for  ten  years  longer ; 
sometimes  hiding  away  from  his  enemies,  sometimes  im- 
prisoned by  them;  always  the  same  gentle,  patient  spirit,, 
hating  the  bloodshed  and  cruelty  of  which  he  was  made 
the  central  figure,  but  powerless  to  prevent  them.  He 
had  never  been  popular  with  the  people,  who  could 
better  appreciate  military  talent  than  saintly  piety,  and 
who  readily  adopted  as  a  leader  the  spirited  young  son 
of  York.  Edward  IV.  was  now  in  his  twentieth  year. 

Queen  Margaret,  still  struggling  desperately  for  her 
husband  and  her  son,  soon  collected  another  army,  and 
with  these  gave  Edward  battle  at  Towton,  in  Yorkshire. 
Edward  issued  orders  to  his  soldiers  to  give  no  quarter. 
A  whole  long  day  and  night  and  far  into  the  next  day  did 
the  cruel  fight  go  on.  At  last  the  Lancastrians  began  to- 
give  way;  their  enemies  followed,  slaying  without  pity, 
and  when  the  fight  was  over,  more  than  thirty  thousand 
Englishmen  lay  dead  on  English  ground,  killed  by  their 
own  countrymen.  There  has  been  no  other  such  battle 
in  England,  before  or  since. 

At  the  next  Parliament  called  by  Edward  IV.,  Henry 
and  Margaret  and  all  who  adhered  to  them  were  de- 
clared traitors,  and  the  crown  settled  on  the  family 
of  York.  The  king  was  crowned  at  Westminster;  his. 
next  brother,  George,  was  made  Duke  of  Clarence,  and 
the  youngest,  Richard,  Duke  of  Gloucester.  A  fourth 
son,  the  Earl  of  Rutland,  a  boy  of  fourteen,  had  been 
killed  in  cold  blood  after  the  battle  of  Wakefield  by  "the 
black  Lord  Clifford."  Queen  Margaret  went  twice  to- 


THE    WARS   OF  THE  ROSES.  175, 

France,  to  ask  help  from  her  cousin,  the  crafty  and 
selfish  Louis  XI.  He  gave  her  fair  words,  but  very  little 
assistance,  and  she  had  the  mortification  of  seeing 
Edward's  ambassadors  received  with  distinction.  When 
in  England  she  wandered  about  with  her  husband  and 
her  little  son,  always  the  same  energetic  woman,  in 
prosperity  or  adversity.  After  one  of  her  battles,  she 
was  going  through  a  forest  with  her  child  when  she  was 
attacked  by  a  band  of  robbers,  who  took  away  her 
money  and  jewels.  While  they  were  quarrelling  over 
the  division  of  the  booty  she  slipped  off,  and  was  flying, 
faint  with  hunger  and  weariness,  when  she  saw  another 
robber  approach,  who,  she  supposed,  belonged  to  the 
same  band.  The  idea  came  to  her  of  throwing  herself 
upon  his  generosity,  and  going  loftily  up  to  him  she  said, 
"Here,  my  friend,  is  the  son  of  your  king.  I  trust  him 
to  your  loyalty."  The  man  was  won  by  her  confidence, 
and  guided  her  and  the  boy  to  a  place  of  safety. 

Alter  the  battle  of  Hexham,  Margaret  became  once 
more  a  fugitive,  and  Henry  was  carried  a  prisoner  to 
London,  led  three  times  around  the  pillory  on  horseback 
with  his  feet  tied  to  the  stirrups,  and  then  thrust  into  the 
Tower.  At  the  same  time,  Edward  sated  his  vengeance 
with  the  punishment  of  the  Lancastrian  nobility.  Execu- 
tions followed  one  another  with  frightful  rapidity,  and  the 
ruin  of  the  whole  party  seemed  to  be  at  hand  when 
affairs  took  another  turn.  The  great  Earl  of  Warwick 
had  been  so  long  used  to  being  the  first  man  in  the  king- 
dom that  he  had  forgotten  that  other  people  could  have 
wills  as  well  as  himself,  and  now  as  the  royal  family  were 
reaching  an  age  when  it  was  time  for  them  to  be  married, 
he  made  plans  for  them  as  if  he  had  been  their  guardian. 


170  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

± 

Having  arranged  several  suitable  marriages  for  them  in 
his  own  mind,  he  was  much  offended  when  he  found  that 
the  king  had  secretly  married  Elizabeth  Woodville,  the 
widow  of  a  Lancastrian  knight,  Sir  John  Grey,  and  was 
loading  her  relations  with  wealth  and  honors.  At  the 
same  time,  Edward  was  unwise  enough  to  show  himself 
unfriendly  toward  the  Earl  of  Warwick  and  his  brothers ; 
and  the  earl  in  a  fit  of  disgust  went  over  to  Margaret's 
side,  taking  with  him  the  Duke  of  Clarence,  King  Ed- 
ward's brother. 

Clarence  was  a  most  miserable  creature;  false,  weak, 
dissipated,  and  treacherous;  but  he  made  a  useful  tool 
for  Warwick's  purpose.  The  king -maker  had  no  son  to 
inherit  his  vast  estates,  but  he  had  two  daughters,  one  of 
whom  he  married  to  this  same  Duke  of  Clarence,  and 
the  other  to  Prince  Edward,  son  of  Henry  VI.  and  Mar- 
garet of  Anjou.  Clarence  changed  sides  three  or  four 
times,  and  the  end  of  it  was  that  he  and  Warwick  at 
length  got  up  a  great  army,  with  the  help  of  the  king  of 
France,  and  marched  to  London  with  the  joyful  cry,  long 
unheard,  "God  bless  King  Henry!" 

The  hapless  Henry  had  been  a  prisoner  in  the  Tower 
four  years  when  this  change  came  in  his  fortunes.  Those 
who  went  to  bring  him  out  to  ride  through  the  streets  as 
king  "found  him  nought  worshipfully  arrayed  as  a  king, 
and  nought  so  cleanly  kept  as  should  beseem  such  a 
prince.  They  had  him  out  and  new  arrayed  him,  and 
did  to  him  great  reverence;"  and  for  a  while  he  was  king 
again.  Edward  fled  to  Holland,  so  poor  that  he  was 
obliged  to  pay  for  his  passage  with  a  fur-lined  gown, 
promising  to  do  more  for  the  captain  when  he  should  be 
better  off.  He  was  soon  again  in  England,  however,  and 


THE    WARS   OF  THE  ROSES.  177 

the  battle  of  Barnet  was  fought;  Warwick  the  king-maker 
-was  slain,  and  the  poor  dethroned  Henry  was  led  back 
to  the  Tower. 

Margaret  made  one  more  effort.  She  was  collecting 
an  army,  with  good  prospects  of  success,  when  Edward 
surprised  her  at  Tewkesbury,  before  she  could  effect  a 
junction  with  a  large  force,  promised  her  under  the  Earl 
of  Pembroke.  The  Lancastrians  were  completely  de- 
feated. Queen  Margaret  and  her  son  were  taken  pris- 
oners (1471).  The  young  Edward,  son  of  Henry  of  Lan- 
caster, was  brought  to  the  Yorkist  King  Edward,  who 
asked  roughly  how  he  dared  to  take  up  arms  against  him. 
The  prince  boldly  answered  that  he  came  to  recover  his 
own  and  his  father's  inheritance.  At  this  the  king  bru- 
tally struck  him  on  the  face  with  his  iron  gauntlet,  and  the 
Yorkist  lords  standing  by,  — the  accounts  say  the  king's 
brother  Richard,  Duke  of  Gloucester,  was  one  of  them — 
thrust  their  daggers  into  his  heart.  The  unhappy  mother 
was  sent  to  the  Tower,  but  she  did  not  see  her  husband. 
The  chronicler  says,  "  That  night,  between  eleven  and 
twelve  of  the  clock  was  King  Henry  put  to  death,  the 
Duke  of  Gloucester  and  divers  of  his  men  being  in  the 
Tower.  And  on  the  morrow  he  was  chested  and  brought 
to  Paul's,  and  his  face  was  open,  that  every  one  might  see 
him."*  Margaret  of  Anjou  had  made  a  brave  fight,  but 
she  was  conquered.  She  was  kept  for  five  years  a  pris- 
oner in  the  Tower,  and  then  her  cousin  Louis  XL,  king 
of  France,  ransomed  her  for  50,000  crowns,  and  took  care 

*"Ye  towers  of  London,  England's  lasting  shame, 

With  many  a  foul  and  midnight  murder  fed, 
Revere  his  consort's  faith,  his  father's  fame, 
And  spare  the  meek  usurper's  holy  head ! " — Gray. 
12 


178  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

of  her  for  the  rest  of  her  life.  In  Scott's  novel,  "Anne  of 
Geierstein,"  the  unhappy  woman  appears  again  on  the 
scene;  "neither  wife,  mother,  nor  England's  queen." 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

EDWARD    IV.      THE    LITTLE    PRINCES    IN   THE   TOWER. 

HE  battle  of  Tewkesbury  ends  the  first  part  of 
the  Wars  of  the  Roses.  The  White  Rose  was 
supreme.  The  hunted  Lancastrians  fled  in  all 
directions,  many  of  them  in  extreme  poverty.  A  wounded 
man  writes  to  his  mother  from  his  hiding-place  to  beg  for 
some  money,  "for,  by  my  troth,"  he  says,  "my  leechcraft 
and  physic  and  rewards  to  them  that  have  kept  me  have 
cost  me  since  Easter-day  more  than  five  pounds,  and  now 
I  have  neither  meat,  drink,  clothes,  leechcraft,  nor 
money."  Philip  de  Comines,  the  statesman,  soldier,  and 
historian,  says  that  he  saw  the  Duke  of  Exeter,  in  Flan- 
ders, barefoot  and  begging  his  bread  from  house  to  house, 
and  that  other  great  English  lords  whom  he  mentions 
were  in  greater  misery  than  common  beggars.  Strange 
to  say,  the  Wars  of  the  Roses  produced  very  little  effect 
on  the  prosperity  of  England.* 

*  De  Comines,  the  Flemish  writer  quoted  above,  whom  Macaulajr 
calls  one  of  the  most  enlightened  statesmen  of  his  time,  says,  "Eng- 
land has  this  peculiar  grace,  that  neither  the  country,  nor  the  people 
nor  the  houses  are  wasted,  destroyed  or  demolished. "  He  says  the 
calamities  of  war  fall  only  upon  the  soldiers,  and  especially  on  the 
nobility.  "In  my  opinion,  in  all  the  countries  in  Europe  the  gov- 
ernment is  nowhere  so  well  managed,  the  people  nowhere  less  ob- 
noxious to  violence  and  oppression,  nor  the  houses  less  liable  to  the 
desolations  of  war  than  in  England." 


EDWARD  IV.      PRINCES  IN  THE   TOWER.      179 

A  traveller  gives  us  a  peep  into  the  court -life  of  that 
day.  "A  great  lord  from  Bohemia,"  we  are  told,  was 
allowed  to  sit  in  a  corner  of  the  queen's  dining-room 
while  she  ate  her  dinner,  and  gives  an  account  of  the 
ceremony.  "The  queen  sat  on  a  golden  stool  alone  at 
her  table,  and  her  mother  and  the  king's  sister  stood  far 
below  her.  And  when  the  queen  spoke  to  one  of  those 
they  kneeled  down  before  her,  and  remained  kneeling 
until  the  queen  drank  water.  And  all  her  ladies,  and 
even  great  lords,  had  to  kneel  while  she  was  eating,  which 
continued  three  hours."  One  can  scarcely  wonder  that 
the  king  escaped  from  such  wearisome  slavery  as  this, 
and  indulged  his  own  tastes  elsewhere;  and  vicious  tastes 
they  were.  There  was,  however,  a  nobler  side  to  Edward's 
reign.  As  Edward  III.  a  hundred  years  before,  had  been 
the  patron  of  Chaucer,  so  Edward  IV.  was  the  patron  of 
William  Caxton.  It  was  a  happy  day  for  England  when 
the  first  printing-press  was  set  up  at  Westminster  by  Cax- 
ton (1474).  The  mariner's  compass,  too,  had  now  come 
into  general  use,  and  ships  no  longer  needed  to  feel  their 
way,  as  of  old. 

The  workmen  of  that  time  were  obliged  to  be  indus- 
trious, whether  they  would  or  not.  For  six  months  in 
the  year,  from  March  to  September,  every  laborer  and 
tradesman  must  be  at  his  work  before  five  in  the  morn- 
ing, and  must  not  depart  until  between  seven  and  eight 
in  the  evening.  During  this  time  he  could  have  half  an 
hour  each  for  breakfast  and  dinner,  and  an  hour  for  his 
"noon-meat."  From  May  to  August  he  was  to  have 
half  an  hour  of  the  day-time  for  sleep.  The  law  took 
much  note  of  the  working  men.  The  "Statute  of 
Apparel"  forbade  their  wearing  any  clothing  that  cost 


180  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

more  than  two  shillings  "  the  broad  yard."  They  could 
wear  no  furs  nor  scarlet  cloth,  and  only  such  persons  as 
had  £20  a  year  might  wear  damask  or  satin  or  gilt 
girdles.  Of  a  piece  with  these  regulations  were  those 
relating  to  commerce.  The  Duke  of  Burgundy  ordered 
that  all  woollen  cloths  wrought  in  England  should 
be  banished  out  of  the  lands  of  the  said  Duke;  and 
Edward,  finding  that  this  took  away  the  foreign  market 
from  his  cloth-weavers,  forbade  the  bringing  into  Eng- 
land of  anything  made  within  the  dominions  of  the 
Duke  of  Burgundy.  These  two  acts  are  among  the 
earliest  developments  of  that  part  of  our  political  system 
which  is  called  "protection  to  home  industry." 

King  Henry  VI.  took  great  interest  in  learning.*  He 
founded  at  Eton  a  school,  still  in  existence,  where  boys 
prepare  for  the  universities;  and  he  planned  a  college  at 
Cambridge  which,  if  he  had  been  able  to  carry  out  his 
idea,  would  have  been  one  of  the  grandest  in  the  world. 
The  exquisite  chapel,  which,  two  centuries  later,  Sir 
Christopher  Wren,  the  great  architect,  used  to  go  once  a 

*  An  anecdote  which  shows  the  taste  of  the  time  is  related  by 
Anthony  a  Wood,  an  English  antiquary  who  lived  in  the  seven- 
teenth century.  During  the  wars  of  the  Roses,  scholarship  was  at  so 
low  an  ebb  that  learned  men  were  sometimes  obliged  to  beg  their 
bread  from  door  to  door.  Two  of  these,  we  are  told,  came  to  the 
castle  of  a  nobleman  who,  .understanding  from  their  credentials  that 
they  had  a  taste  for  poetry,  commanded  his  servants  to  take  them  to 
a  well,  to  put  one  into  the  one  bucket  and  the  other  into  the  other 
bucket,  and  let  them  down  alternately  into  the  water,  and  to  con- 
tinue that  exercise  till  each  of  them  had  made  a  couplet  of  verses  on 
his  bucket.  After  they  had  endured  this  discipline  for  a  considerable 
time,  to  the  great  entertainment  of  the  baron  and  his  company,  they 
made  their  verses,  and  obtained  their  liberty. 


EDWARD  IV.      PRINCES  IN  THE   TOWER.      181 

year  to  look  at,  was  the  only  part  finished  by  Henry. 
Queen's  College,  also  at  Cambridge,  had  two  queens  for 
its  founders  who  bore  no  love  to  one  another;  Margaret 
of  Anjou  and  Elizabeth  Woodville,  queen  of  Edward  IV. 

The  charming  art  of  letter-writing  was  cultivated  most 
successfully  during  this  period  by  the  Paston  family, 
of  whom  all,  father,  mother,  sons,  and  daughters  wrote 
frequent  letters  to  one  another,  which,  fortunately  for  us, 
have  been  preserved.  They  talk  in  these  letters  about 
all  sorts  of  things,  public  as  well  as  private,  and  some  of 
our  most  important  information  comes  from  this  source. 
In  studying  of  times  when  there  were  no  newspapers, 
such  records  are  invaluable. 

The  twelve  years  of  Edward's  reign  after  the  battle  ot 
Tewkosbury  were,  fortunately,  uneventful  ones.  He 
roused  himself  once  sufficiently  to  invade  France,  but 
was  bought  off  by  Louis  XI.  at  the  Treaty  of  Pequigny. 
The  money  for  this  expedition  he  raised  by  means  of 
forced  loans  (never  repaid),  humorously  called  "  Benevo- 
lences." 

A  more  tragic  occurrence  than  the  French  war  took 
place  at  home.  Edward  in  some  way  became  suspicious 
of  his  brother  George,  the  "false,  fleeting,  perjured 
Clarence,"  as  Shakspeare  calls  him,  and  had  him  tried 
by  Parliament  and  sentenced  to  death.  The  sentence 
was  carried  out  so  secretly  that  no  particulars  have  ever 
been  known.  The  old  story  that  the  miserable,  drunken 
creature,  being  desired  to  choose  the  manner  of  his 
death,  said  he  would  be  drowned  in  a  cask  of  Malmsey 
wine,  is  a  pure  invention. 

Edward  IV.  was  just  preparing  for  another  invasion  of 
France  when  he  died,  at  forty-two  years  of  age,  worn  out 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


with  dissipation.  He  had  been  king  of  England  for 
twenty-two  years.  He  was  the  first  to  reestablish  that 
kind  of  despotism  which  shows  itself  in  governing  by 
one  man's  will,  disregarding  the  will  of  the  people.  It 
had  been  practised  by  the  Normans  and  the  early 
Plantagenets,  but  for  almost  two  hundred  years  circum- 
stances had  favored  an  approach  to  government  by 
representatives.  It  was  two  centuries  later  before  the 
question  was  set  at  rest,  never  again  to  be  opened. 

Edward  IV.  left  two  sons,  Edward  V.,  not  yet  thirteen, 
and  Richard,  Duke  of  York,  about  eleven  years  of  age. 
Besides  these  there  were  five  daughters.  At  the  time  of 
his  father's  death,  the  young  king  Edward  was  in  Wales 
with  his  uncle,  Lord  Rivers,  who  was  called  the  most 
accomplished  nobleman  in  England.  Edward  IV.  had 
left  his  brother  Richard,  Duke  of  Gloucester,  regent  of 
the  kingdom,  and  the  first  use  Richard  made  of  his 
power  was  to  arrest  Lord  Rivers  and  the  queen's  son, 
Lord  Grey,  and  have  them  thrown  into  prison.  He 
then  himself  took  charge  of  the  young  Edward  and 
brought  him  to  London. 

The  queen  dreaded  her  brother-in-law  more  than  any- 
thing else  in  the  world;  and  when  Richard,  putting  off 
Edward  V.'s  coronation,  had  himself  made  Protector  (a 
title  implying  much  more  power  than  that  of  regent),  she 
was  so  terrified  that  she  took  refuge  in  the  Sanctuary  at 
Westminster*  with  her  daughters  and  her  younger  son. 
Richard  obliged  her  to  give  up  her  son,  and  then 
secured  Lord  Hastings,  who  he  found  could  not  be 
bought  by  any  bribes.  He  called  a  Council  at  the 

*This  Sanctuary,  now  pulled  down,  was  a  building  near  the 
Abbey,  built  especially  as  a  place  of  safety  for  persons  in  danger. 


EDWARD  IV.      PRINCES  IN  THE   TOWER.      183 

Tower,  at  which  he  appeared  remarkably  jovial,  laugh- 
ing and  joking  with  the  Bishop  of  Ely  and  asking  him 
for  some  of  the  fine  strawberries  in  his  garden.  Then  he 
went  out  for  a  few  minutes  and  came  back,  apparently 
in  a  state  of  fury.  He  frowned  and  glowered  and  looked 
-so  grim  that  every  one  sat  silent,  wondering  what  dread- 
ful news  he  had  heard.  Suddenly  he  turned  upon 
Hastings,  and,  accusing  him  of  impossible  crimes, 
declared  that  he  would  not  dine  until  the  traitor's  head 
was  brought  to  him.  Then  he  struck  his  fist  furiously 
on  the  table  and  screamed  out  "Treason!"  at  which 
signal  armed  men  rushed  in  and  carried  off  the  unfortu- 
nate nobleman,  who  was  not  allowed  to  say  a  word;  his 
head  was  struck  off  on  a  log  of  wood  that  happened  to 
be  lying  on  the  Tower  green,  and  Richard  went  on  with 
his  dinner. 

This  strange  scene  is  hard  to  believe,  but 'the  authority 
for  it  is  unquestionable.  The  Bishop  of  Ely  himself  told 
it  to  Sir  Thomas  More,  one  of  the  most  truthful  of  men, 
•who  has  related  it  in  his  "  Life  of  King  Edward  V." 

At  nearly  the  same  time  with  the  Hastings  tragedy, 
another  was  enacted  at  Pomfret  Castle,  where  Lord  Riv- 
ers, the  queen's  brother,  and  Lord  Grey,  her  son  by  her 
first  husband,  were  put  to  death.  As  the  persons  most 
faithful  to  Edward  IV. 's  sons  were  now  disposed  of, 
Richard  made  arrangements  for  a  theatrical  display  which 
he  thought  would  be  very  impressive.  The  Duke  of 
Buckingham,  whom  Richard  made  use  of  as  a  tool,  came 
•with  the  Mayor  of  London  and  a  party  of  friends  to 
Baynard  Castle,  where  the  Protector  was  living,  and 
desired  to  have  speech  with  him.  Richard  then  appeared 
on  a  balcony,  and  Buckingham,  standing  in  the  street 


184  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

below,  urged  him  to  accept  the  crown,  giving  reasons 
which  it  is  not  worth  while  to  repeat  here.  Richard 
begged  that  they  would  excuse  him.  He  had  no  wish  to 
be  king,  he  said;  he  would  rather  see  his  nephew,  his 
brother  Edward's  son,  on  the  throne;  but  when  Bucking- 
ham assured  him  that  the  people  of  England  would  never 
allow  young  Edward  to  reign,  and  that  if  Richard  refused 
it  would  put  them  to  the  trouble  of  finding  some  one  else, 
he  at  last  consented,  and  was  soon  afterward  crowned, 
with  his  queen,  Anne  of  Warwick,  in  the  midst  of  a  splen- 
did assemblage  of  people,  and  went  off  on  a  triumphal 
journey. 

And  where  was  the  real  king  all  this  while?  Safe  lodged 
in  the  Tower  with  his  little  brother,  but  not  in  the  royal 
apartments,  where  he  had  been  placed  while  preparations 
were  making  for  his  coronation.  These  had  been  given 
up  to  the  use  of  Richard  and  Anne,  who  went  from  them 
in  state  to  be  crowned  at  Westminster.  It  is  said  that 
the  boys  were  removed  to  a  dismal  little  bedroom  in  what 
is  still  called  "The  Bloody  Tower,"  but  nothing  about  it 
is  certain.  Here  is  the  story  as  it  has  come  down  to  usr 
told  afterward  by  two  of  the  actors  in  it:  Richard,  finding 
that  the  lieutenant  of  the  Tower,  Sir  Robert  Brakenbury, 
was  not  to  be  depended  on  for  a  murder,  ordered  him  to- 
give  up  the  keys  for  one  night  to  Sir  James  Tyrrel. 
Brakenbury  dared  not  disobey,  and  at  the  dead  of  night 
Tyrrel  went  with  two  ruffians,  servants  of  his  own,  named 
John  Dighton  and  Miles  Forrest,  and  stood  at  the  foot 
of  the  winding  stair-case  leading  to  the  young  princes' 
bedchamber,  while  the  men  went  up  to  do  his  bidding. 
They  found  the  two  boys  sleeping  quietly  together,  and 
being  men  of  great  size  and  strength,  they  smothered 


EDWARD  IV.      PRINCES  IN  THE    TOWER.      185 

them  with  the  bolster  and  pillows  of  their  bed.  They 
then  showed  the  bodies  to  Tyrrel,  who  had  them  thrown 
into  a  pit  under  the  stairs,  and  had  stones  heaped  upon 
them;  but  when  King  Richard  returned  to  London  he 
did  not  approve  of  the  place,  and  directed  that  they 
should  be  buried  somewhere  else  in  the  Tower;  where, 
the  witnesses  did  not  know. 

But  we  know;  at  least  we  think  we  do.  In  1674, 
nearly  two  hundred  years  after  the  murder,  some  work- 
men, in  making  repairs  there,  found  a  box  containing  the 
bones  of  two  boys,  apparently  of  the  age  of  Edward  V. 
and  his  little  brother;  and  the  king  of  that  time,  Charles 
II.,  had  them  buried  in  Westminster  Abbey,  where  you 
may  see  their  tomb  to  this  day.  A  monkish  chronicle  of 
the  time  announces  the  event  very  simply.  "And  the 
two  sons  of  King  Edward  were  put  to  silence." 

Edsvard  V.  died  in  his  thirteenth  year,  and  owned  the 
name  of  king  for  thirteen  weeks  (1483).  If  you  wish  to 
see  a  poetical  account  of  his  death  read  it  in  Shakspeare's 
play  of  "Richard  III."  act  4,  scene  3. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

THE    LAST    PLANTAGENET.      THE   FIRST   TUDOR. 

|HE  personal  appearance  of  Richard  III.  is  vari- 
ously described,  his  enemies  speaking  of  him 
as  monstrously  deformed,  and  others  describ- 
ing him  as  good  looking,  though  having  one  shoulder 
higher  and  thicker  than  the  other.  His  portraits  justify 
the  latter  description. 


186  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

Richard  had  a  bitter  sorrow  in  the  loss  of  his  only  son, 
who  died  suddenly  at  eleven  years  old.  The  mother 
died  soon  afterward,  and  the  popular  feeling  against 
Richard  was  so  strong  that  he  was  accused  of  poisoning 
his  wife  in  order  that  he  might  marry  his  niece  Elizabeth, 
Edward  IV. 's  oldest  daughter;  but  this  seems  doubtful. 
It  is  true  that  in  view  of  her  probable  death,  and  while 
her  health  was  declining,  he  made  an  offer  of  marriage 
to  Elizabeth,  saying  he  was  quite  sure  his  wife  would  be 
dead  by  February.  The  proposed  marriage,  however, 
never  took  place.  The  Earl  of  Warwick,  son  of  Rich- 
ard's brother  Clarence,  not  being  very  strong-minded,  was 
allowed  to  live,  carefully  guarded  in  a  gloomy  castle  in 
Yorkshire. 

The  Duke  of  Buckingham,  who  had  helped  Richard 
to  the  throne  and  whom  he  had  loaded  with  favors,  was 
still  unsatisfied,  and,  when  Richard  delayed  or  refused 
some  request,  he  formed,  with  other  disaffected  nobles,  a 
conspiracy  to  dethrone  him  and  give  his  crown  to  Henry, 
Earl  of  Richmond. 

This  nobleman  was  a  Lancastrian,  his  mother  being  a 
great-granddaughter  of  John  of  Gaunt,  by  his  third  wife, 
Chaucer's  sister-in-law.  His  father,  Edmund  Tudor,  was 
son  of  Sir  Owen  Tudor,  who  married  Katherine,  the 
widow  of  Henry  V.  (That  circumstance,  of  course,  had 
nothing  to  do  with  his  claim  to  be  king  of  England;  but 
it  gave  him  some  Welsh  blood  in  his  veins.)  The  first 
attempt  did  not  succeed.  Richmond  was  driven  back 
to  France  by  contrary  winds,  and  Buckingham,  deserted 
by  his  men,  took  refuge  with  an  old  servant;  but  being 
betrayed  for  the  reward  offered  by  Richard,  he  was  de- 
livered up,  and  beheaded  without  a  trial. 


LAST  PLANTA GENET.      FIRST  TUDOR.         187 

Richard  now  felt  that  nothing  could  disturb  his  pos- 
session of  the  throne  which  had  cost  him  so  much  to  win* 
His  enemies,  however,  were  not  idle.  Henry  Tudor's 
mother  (still  called  Countess  of  Richmond,  though  she 
had  married  Lord  Stanley  after  her  first  husband's  death) 
had  been  indefatigable  in  raising  men  and  money  for 
him ;  and  as  Richard  was  celebrating  the  festival  of  Epiph- 
any, January  6th,  1485,  "in  his  royal  robes  and  with 
his  crown  upon  his  head,"  he  received  intelligence  that 
Richmond  was  about  to  make  another  invasion.  He  said 
he  was  glad  of  it,  as  it  would  give  him  a  chance  to  crush 
all  his  enemies  at  once;  but  it  was  noticed  that  he  gave 
to  Nottingham  Castle,  where  he  was  staying,  the  name 
of  the  Castle  of  Care.  He  had  a  man  put  to  death  for 
making  this  rather  rude  but  harmless  rhyme: 

"The  Rat,  the  Cat,  and  Lovel  our  Dog, 
Govern  all  England  under  the  Hog. " 

Ratcliffe,  Catesby,  and  Lovel,  (whose  coat-of-arms  bore 
a  dog,)  were  three  of  Richard's  chief  friends;  while  the 
wild  boar  on  his  own  crest  stood  for  the  hog  in  the 
•couplet. 

All  things  being  ready  for  his  enterprise,  Henry  Tudor 
•crossed  the  sea,  this  time  safely,  and  landed  at  Milford 
Haven,  in  Wales,  from  which  place  he  marched  east- 
ward, his  army  increasing  all  the  while  like  a  rolling 
snowball,  until  he  met  that  of  Richard  on  the  field  of 
Bosworth  in  Leiscestershire. 

The  battle  was  sharp  and  short.  Richard  fought  like 
a  tiger,  bitterly  mortified  to  see  in  Henry's  army  many 
of  the  men  whom  he  had  counted  among  his  best  friends, 
especially  the  two  Stanleys,  one  of  whom,  Sir  William,  is 
said  to  have  gone  over  to  Henry's  side  after  the  battle 


185  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

began.  Fighting  furiously,  he  was  cut  down  with  many 
wounds  and  trampled  under  foot  by  the  horses.  His 
crown,  which  he  seems  to  have  been  very  fond  of  and 
to  have  carried  with  him  into  the  battle,  was  found  under 
a  hawthorn-bush;  Sir  William  Stanley  picked  it  up  and 
placed  it  on  the  Earl  of  Richmond's  head,  crying  out,. 
"  Long  live  King  Henry  the  Seventh." 

That  night,  in  the  course  of  burying  the  dead,  a  small, 
bloody  corpse  was  thrown  carelessly  across  a  horse,  "like 
a  calf  or  a  hog,"  the  chronicle  says,  "the  arms  and  head 
dangling  on  one  side,  the  legs  on  the  other," — all  its  fine 
clothing  gone  and  the  red  wounds  scarcely  to  be  dis- 
tinguished for  the  mire  that  covered  them — and  buried  in 
the  church  of  the  Gray  Friars,  at  Leicester.  Henry  VIL 
had  a  monument  placed  over  the  remains,  but  monu- 
ment and  church  were  alike  swept  away  in  the  whole- 
sale destruction  of  the  monasteries  by  his  son,  Henry 
VIII. 

Comparatively  few  persons  lost  their  lives  in  this  clos- 
ing struggle  of  the  Wars  of  the  Roses.  It  is  because 
Bosworth  Field  forms  a  dividing  line  between  the  old  and 
the  new  order  of  things  that  it  is  counted  among  the 
most  noteworthy  battles  of  English  history.  With  the 
last  Plantagenet  died  out  the  ascendency  of  the  feudal 
nobility  in  England.  The  Tudor  monarchs,  from  Henry 
VII.  to  Elizabeth,  loved  peace  and  loved  money.  Glory,, 
unless  it  was  very  easy  to  come  by,  they  did  not  covet, 
and  they  generally  limited  their  warlike  operations  to  de- 
fending themselves  when  they  were  attacked.  The  reign 
of  violence  was  passing  away;  the  reign  of  thrift  was  com- 
ing in  its  stead. 

Richard  III.,  arbitrary  though  he  was,   made  some 


LAST  PLANTA GENET.      FIRST  TUDOR.        189 

wise  laws,  and  if  he  had  come  innocently  to  his  throne  he 
might  have  ranked  among  England's  benefactors.  One 
of  his  statutes  declares  that  "There  shall  be  no  hind- 
rance to  any  artificer  or  merchant  stranger,  of  what 
nation  or  country  he  be,  for  bringing  into  this  realm  or 
selling  by  retail  or  otherwise,  any  manner  of  books, 
written  or  imprinted."  His  parliaments  were  the  first 
to  make  laws  in  the  English  language,  all  previous  legis- 
lation, since  the  time  of  William  the  Conqueror,  having 
been  in  Norman  French.  Richard  was  the  first  to  ap- 
point a  foreign  consul,  and  the  first  to  employ  couriers 
for  other  than  military  purposes.  In  a  time  of  peace 
and  with  a  longer  reign,  the  country  would  have  taken 
many  forward  steps  under  his  government.  He  was 
only  thirty-two  years  old  at  the  time  of  his  death. 

No  period  of  England's  history,  from  the  time  of 
Chaucer  to  the  present  moment,  has  been  so  barren  of 
literary  production  as  the  fifteenth  century.  The  few 
poets  who  wrote  anything  worth  mentioning  were  all 
Scottish,  the  captive  king,  James  I.,  standing  at  their 
head.  The  learned  Sir  John  Fortescue  wrote  a  book  in 
praise  of  British  laws,  and  Reginald  Pecock  attacked  the 
Pope's  infallibility;  William  Caxton  translated  many 
books,  and  Sir  Thomas  Malory  made  up  from  the  old 
chronicles  a  book  which  he  called  "The  Morte  d'Arthur;" 
but  literature,  properly  so  called,  was  absent  from  the 
industries  of  England  during  this  troubled  time.  The 
two  most  accomplished  men  in  the  country,  the  Earls  of 
Rivers  and  Worcester,  fell  under  the  axe  by  Richard's 
orders,  and  in  the  times  when  it  was  uncertain  how  long 
a  man's  head  would  remain  on  his  shoulders,  it  became 
of  less  consequence  that  it  should  be  filled  with  learning. 


190  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

A  further  step  was  made  toward  personal  freedom  in 
jdichard's  time  by  his  freeing  all  the  "villains"  still  re- 
maining in  bondage  on  the  royal  domains.  The  Wars 
of  the  Roses  had  practically  put  an  end  to  serfdom, 
however,  before  this  time.  Some  of  the  great  families 
freed  their  serfs  themselves,  in  order  that  they  might 
fight  the  more  willingly;  and  some  families  were  so 
diminished  by  war  that  there  was  no  one  left  to  take 
account  of  the  the  villians,  who  thus  became  their  own 
masters.  It  is  strange,  after  all  this  bloodshed,  to  see 
how  little  feeling  of  bitterness  remained  on  either  side. 
The  people  did  not  even  form  two  political  parties;  and 
when  the  Lancastrian  Henry  Tudor  married  the  oldest 
daughter  of  the  Yorkist  Edward  IV.,  the  old  feud  seemed 
to  be  disposed  of.  Gray  makes  his  bard  say: 

"  Above,  below,  the  Rose  of  Snow 
Twined  with  her  blushing  foe  we  spread;" 

and  a  chronicler  of  the  times  says  that  by  the  hand  of 
the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  "was  first  tied  together 
the  sweet  posy  of  the  red  and  white  roses." 

Henry's  tranquility  did  not  last  long.  A  priest  at 
Oxford,  named  Simons,  declared  that  a  pupil  of  his,  a 
baker's  son,  whose  real  name  was  Lambert  Simnel,  was 
no  other  than  the  young  Earl  of  Warwick,  who  was  re- 
ported to  have  escaped  from  the  Tower.  The  boy  was 
instructed  in  his  part  by  Simons,  and  by  him  taken  to- 
Ireland,  where  he  was  joyfully  received,  and  was  crowned 
in  Dublin.  The  Earl  of  Lincoln,  a  member  of  the  royal 
family,  took  his  part  and  raised  an  army  for  him;  the 
Duchess  of  Burgundy  (sister  of  Edward  IV.),  sent  over  a 
body  of  men  under  Martin  Schwartz,  and  these  joining 
Lincoln  a  battle  was  fought  at  Stoke  in  which  the  rebels- 


LAST  PLANTAGENET.      FIRST  TUDOR.        191 

were  defeated.*  The  real  Earl  of  Warwick  was  brought 
out  of  the  Tower  and  exhibited,  and  Simons,  who  con- 
fessed his  imposture,  was  thrown  into  prison,  where  he 
soon  died.  Simnel  was  made  a  scullion  in  the  king's 
kitchen,  in  which  honorable  position  he  washed  dishes 
and  waited  on  the  servants  until  he  was  promoted  to  the 
office  of  king's  falconer. t  (1487.) 

Five  years  later  another  imposture  was  attempted. 
Perkin  Warbeck,  a  young  Fleming!  of  engaging  manners 
and  good  education,  was  instructed  to  personate  the 
Duke  of  York,  the  younger  of  Edward  IV.'s  sons,  under 
the  pretext  that  this  prince  had  escaped  the  fate  which 
overtook  his  brother.  Perkin  presented  himself  before 
the  Duchess  of  Burgundy,  who  gazed  long  and  earnestly 
yito  his  face,  and  then  with  a  burst  of  joy  and  affection 
embraced  him  as  her  long-lost  nephew.  As  she  is  sup- 
posed to  have  instigated  the  plot,  her  surprise  must  have 
been  overwhelming.  She  called  him  "The  White  Rose 
of  England,"  and  supplied  him  liberally  with  money. 
The  Irish  were  shy  of  him,  remembering  Lambert  Simnel, 

*  Lincoln  and  Schwartz  died  on  the  battle-field,  but  a  curious 
story  is  told  of  Lord  Lovel,  one  of  the  confederates.  He  disap- 
peared at  the  time  of  the  battle  and  was  never  seen  or  heard  of 
again.  Just  two  hundred  years  afterward,  at  his  country-house  of 
Minster  Lovel  in  Oxfordshire,  an  underground  chamber  was  dis- 
covered, in  which  was  found  the  skeleton  of  a  man  seated  in  a  chair, 
with  his  head  leaning  on  a  table.  It  is  supposed  that  Lovel  took 
refuge  in  this  chamber,  and,  not  being  able  to  get  out,  was  starved 
to  death  through  neglect  of  his  attendants. 

t  One  who  takes  care  of  the  hawks,  which  in  those  days  were 
trained  to  pursue  on  the  wing  and  kill  other  birds,  as  sport  for 
their  masters. 

1  Native  of  Flanders. 


192  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

but  the  king  of  Scotland  took  up  his  cause  and  married 
him  to  Lady  Catherine  Gordon,  daughter  of  the  Earl 
of  Huntly. 

Perkin  did  not  show  the  traditional  bravery  of  the 
House  of  York.  He  raised  an  army  in  Cornwall,  but  on 
hearing  of  the  approach  of  the  king's  troops,  deserted  his 
own  and  took  refuge  in  a  sanctuary,  leaving  his  followers 
to  their  fate.  He  was  persuaded  to  give  himself  up,  and, 
after  some  attempts  to  escape,  was  finally  shut  up  in  the 
Tower.  Here  he  formed  with  the  Earl  of  Warwick,  who 
had  been  for  fourteen  years  a  prisoner,  a  plan  of  escape; 
and  Henry,  seizing  the  opportunity,  had  Perkin  hanged 
at  Tyburn,  while  the  earl,  as  a  death  suited  to  his  royal 
birth,  was  beheaded  on  Tower  Hill  (1499).  He  was  the 
last  descendant,  in  the  direct  male  line,  of  the  noble 
house  of  Plantagenet,  which  had  given  kings  to  England 
for  more  than  three  hundred  years  (1154-1485). 

We  have  now  come  to  the  closing  year  of  the  great 
fifteenth  century;  that  one  which  had  seen  printing  and 
gunpowder  made  as  common  as  the  monk's  quill  and  the 
man-at-arms'  pike  were  in  former  times;  had  seen  the 
mariner's  compass  open  a  way  across  the  ocean,  and 
America  given  to  the  world  by  Columbus;  had  seen  Vasco 
da  Gama  accomplish  the  long-desired  discovery  of  a  route 
to  India  around  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope;  had  seen  the 
Moors  driven  out  of  Spain  by  Ferdinand  and  Isabella, 
and  the  Turks  enter  Europe  through  the  gate  of  Constan- 
tinople; had  seen  France  and  Spain  take  the  form  of 
consolidated  monarchies  instead  of  groups  of  quarreling 
provinces;  and  had  seen  the  power  of  the  old  feudal1 
nobility  in  England  broken  down  and  its  warlike  barons 
become  the  obedient  subjects  of  a  monarch.  The  knight 


LAST  PLANTAGENET.      FIRST  TUDOR.        193 

in  heavy  armor  was  gone;  he  no  longer  called  to  his  aid 
a  troop  of  stout  bowmen  and  with  them  rose  in  arms  for 
or  against  the  king.  A  statute  of  Edward  IV.  had  or- 
dered the  disbanding  of  all  armed  retainers,  and  Henry 
VII.  took  care  that  its  provisions  should  be  carried  out.* 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

THE   SIXTEENTH    CENTURY.       HENRY   VIII. 

T  has  been  said  of  Henry  VII.  that  he  had  two 
ruling  passions,  avarice  and  hatred  of  the  House 
of  York.  The  latter  extended,  apparently,  even 
to  his  queen,  whose  coronation  he  deferred  until  com- 
pelled to  it  by  the  murmurs  of  the  people.  When  it  was 
performed,  he  said  she  should  have  all  the  glory  of  the 
occasion,  so  he  remained  in  a  closely  latticed  box  be- 
tween the  altar  and  the  pulpit  in  Westminster  Abbey,  and 
watched  the  ceremony  from  that  place. 

*  Lord  Bacon,  who  wrote  the  life  of  Henry  VII.  gives  an  in- 
stance of  this.  The  king  had  been  making  a  visit  to  the  Earl  of 
Oxford  (to  whom  he  was  under  the  greatest  obligations  for  services 
rendered  in  time  of  need )  and  was  entertained  in  a  truly  princely 
manner.  When  he  was  leaving  the  castle  two  long  lines  of  liveried 
soldiers  were  drawn  up,  making  a  lane  for  him  to  pass  through. 
"These  are  surely  your  menial  servants,  my  lord?"  said  the  king. 
"May  it  please  your  grace, "  replied  the  earl,  "that  were  not  for  mine 
ease.  They  are  most  of  them  my  retainers,  that  are  come  to  do  me 
service,  but  chiefly  to  see  your  grace."  "I  thank  you  for  your  good 
cheer,  my  lord,"  said  Henry,  "but  I  may  not  endure  to  have  my 
laws  broken  in  my  sight.  My  attorney  must  speak  with  you."  And 
he  spoke  to  such  good  purpose  that  the  earl  was  glad  to 'get  off  for 
a  fine  of  15,000  marks  (about  $50,000). 
13 


194  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

Henry's  expedients  for  getting  money  were  as  ingeni- 
ous as  their  success  was  complete.  He  knew  he  had 
only  to  announce  a  war  with  Scotland  or  France  to  open 
the  purses  of  his  subjects;  and  having  thus  obtained  vast 
sums  of  money  for  this  purpose,  he  would  make  the  other 
party  pay  roundly  for  a  peace,  "thus  getting  gain  from 
both  his  enemies  and  his  friends."  A  device  of  his  favor- 
ite minister,  Cardinal  Morton  (in  Richard's  time  Bishop 
of  Ely),  was  to  demand  "benevolences"  from  two  classes, 
of  persons;  from  those  who  lived  handsomely  and  spent 
a  great  deal  of  money,  because  their  wealth  was  apparent; 
and  from  those  who  lived  poorly  and  plainly,  because 
their  economy  must  have  made  them  rich.  This  was- 
jokingly  called  "Morton's  fork,"  on  one  prong  or  other 
of  which  every  one  must  be  impaled.  But  by  far  the 
greater  part  of  this  wealth  came  from  the  people  who- 
were  "ground  in  Empson  and  Dudley's  mills."  Richard 
Empson  and  Edmund  Dudley  were  two  judges  who  made 
it  their  business  to  search  out  old  and  forgotten  laws, 
and  then,  by  means  of  spies  and  informers,  to  find  out 
rich  men  who  had  broken  these  laws,  throw  them  into 
prison  without  a  trial,  and  keep  them  there  until  they 
paid  a  heavy  fine. 

Henry  made  his  younger  son  Warden  of  the  Scottish 
Marches  and  Lieutenant  of  Ireland  when  he  was  only 
two  years  of  age ;  too  young,  one  would  think,  to  earn  the 
salary  attached  to  these  offices.  Such  practices,  and 
many  more,  kept  his  coffers  always  full;  and  he  seldom 
parted  with  his  money  except  from  necessity  or  for  some 
personal  gratification.  The  queen  seems  to  have  been 
very  economical,  so  that  she  might  have  the  more  to  give 
away.  She  made  handsome  allowances  to  her  three  mar- 


SIXTEENTH  CENTURY.      HENRY  VIII.  195 

ried  sisters,  in  order  that  they  should  not  be  dependent 
upon  their  husbands,  while  she  herself  wore  gowns  that 
were  "mended,  turned,  and  new-bodied."  When  the 
gowns  were  frayed  out  around  the  bottom  she  had  them 
hemmed  up,  paying  the  tailor  twopence  for  each  job. 
Her  shoes  cost  only  twelve  pence  a  pair,  and  had  tin 
buckles  instead  of  silver  ones;  but  when  poor  people 
"brought  her  presents  of  early  peas,  chickens,  strawber- 
ries or  roses,"  they  were  always  liberally  rewarded. 

Henry  VII.'s  oldest  son,  Prince  Arthur,  was  married 
at  sixteen  to  Catherine  of  Aragon,  the  youngest  daughter 
of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  who  brought  a  rich  dowry 
with  her  from  Spain;  his  oldest  daughter,  Margaret,  was 
married  when  still  younger  to  James  IV.,  king  of  Scotland. 
Prince  Arthur  lived  only  a  few  months  after  his  marriage; 
but  the  thrifty  Henry  had  no  idea  of  sending  back  the 
young  widow  and  her  dowry,  so  he  proposed  to  the 
bride's  father  that  she  should  marry  his  second  son, 
Henry,  who  was  seven  years  younger  than  herself.  After 
great  objections  on  the  part  of  Ferdinand,  this  plan  was 
at  length  agreed  to;  and  as  Prince  Henry  was  only  eleven 
years  old,  the  marriage  was  to  be  deferred  for  some  years, 
the  lady  and  the  dowry  remaining  in  England. 

When  Henry  was  about  to  die,  he  did  some  generous 
things  with  the  money  which  he  could  no  longer  use,  and 
he  granted  pardons  to  some  criminals.  Having  thus  made 
his  peace  with  Heaven,  he  died  in  the  twenty-fourth  year 
of  his  reign  and  the  fifty -fourth  of  his  age  (1509).  He 
left  two  architectural  monuments  behind  him;  one  a 
costly  palace  at  Richmond,  which  has  not  much  interest 
for  us  now,  and  the  other  the  beautiful  chapel  at  West- 
minster Abbey,  still  called  by  his  name. 


196  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

England  had  never  been  so  prosperous  as  under 
Henry  the  Seventh.  His  extortions,  outrageous  as  they 
were,  affected  chiefly  the  rich  and  not  the  main  body  of 
the  people.  Commerce  and  manufactures  flourished, 
and  the  king  had  a  share  in  the  discovery  of  America  by 
fitting  out  the  ship  in  which  John  and  Sebastian  Cabot 
explored  the  coast  of  Labrador  (1498).  If  this  expedi- 
tion did  not  bring  in  immediate  returns,  it  at  least 
furnished  England  with  her  ground  for  claiming,  a 
century  later,  the  whole  Atlantic  coast. 

Henry  VII.  did  not  reward  his  explorers  very  sumptu- 
ously, as  we  learn  from  his  carefully-kept  accounts, 
where  there  is  an  entry  of  ten  shillings  to  be  paid  to  the 
discoverer  of  "the  new  isle"  (Newfoundland),  and  an- 
other of  five  shillings  to  the  same  person.  He  came 
near  having  the  honor  of  being  the  patron  of  Columbus, 
but  the  brother  whom  the  great  Genoese  sent  to  ask  aid 
from  England  was  taken  by  pirates,  and  before  he  re- 
covered his  liberty,  Queen  Isabella  had  befriended 
Columbus,  earned  the  gratitude  of  the  world, 
"And  built  herself  an  everlasting  name." 

Among  Henry's  few  spendings  for  public  purposes  was 
the  building  of  a  huge  war-ship,  called  the  "Great  Harry," 
which  when  finished  was  so  clumsy  that  it  could  not  be 
used,  but  which  is  considered  the  foundation  of  the 
present  English  navy. 

The  Dutch  scholar,  Erasmus,  who  lived  in  England 
during  Henry  VII.'s  time,  and  who  came  from  a  clean 
country,  was  shocked  at  the  condition  of  English  houses, 
even  of  the  better  sort.  "The  floors,"  he  says,  "are 
mostly  of  clay,  and  strewn  with  rushes.  Fresh  rushes 
are  periodically  laid  over  them,  but  the  old  ones  remain 


SIXTEENTH  CENTURY.      HENRY  VIII.          197 

as  a  foundation  for  perhaps  twenty  years  together."  The 
condition  of  the  lower  layers  under  these  circumstances 
we  will  leave  to  the  imagination. 

Erasmus  had  good  reason  to  remember  the  English 
custom-houses,  for  when  he  sailed  from  Dover  to  return 
to  his  own  country,  the  king's  officers  took  away  all  his 
money  except  six  angels,  the  largest  amount  any  one  was 
allowed  to  carry  out  of  England.  All  sums  obtained  in 
this  way  went,  of  course,  directly  into  the  king's  pocket. 

Henry  VIII.  came  to  the  throne  (1509)  with  the  fair- 
est prospects  that  ever  opened  before  an  English  king. 
The  rival  lines  of  York  and  Lancaster  were  united  in 
him,  so  that  strife  on  that  ground  was  impossible;  the 
country  was  at  peace  with  all  the  world,  and  the  treasury 
was  full.  He  himself,  now  eighteen  years  old,  was 
handsome,  strong,  skilful  in  all  manly  exercises,  and  full 
of  hope  and  high  spirits.  He  was  as  lavish  in  spending 
money  as  his  father  had  been  eager  in  gathering  it  to- 
gether; and  the  great  hoard  left  by  Henry  VII.  was 
soon  used  up  in  court  gayeties.  Henry  now  married  the 
Princess  Katherine  of  Aragon,  his  brother's  widow,  to 
whom  he  had  been  betrothed  for  seven  years. 

The  first  public  act  of  his  reign  was  one  of  the  grossest 
injustice.  Popular  clamor  demanded  the  punishment  of 
Henry  VII.'s  two  judges,  Empson  and  Dudley;  but  as 
they  had  acted  only  under  the  king's  orders,  and  kept 
strictly  within  the  letter  of  the  law,  it  was  hard  to  know 
of  what  to  accuse  them.  Finally  a  charge  was  trumped 
up  against  them  of  having  conspired  to  take  the  young 
king  prisoner  and  form  a  new  government.  Nothing 
could  be  more  absurd;  but  the  accusation  was  made,  and 
they  were  both  beheaded,  though  none  of  the  ill-gotten 


198  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

wealth  procured  by  their  means  was  ever  given  back. 

The  first  excitement  from  outside  the  kingdom  came 
from  a  war  with  France.  Rome,  Spain,  and  Venice 
had  formed  what  they  called  a  "Holy  League,"  against 
France,  though  its  only  holiness  was  the  name  of  the 
pope;  and  Henry's  astute  father-in-law,  Ferdinand  the 
Catholic,  made  a  cat's-paw  of  him  to  further  his  own 
ends.  Henry  soon  invaded  France  on  his  own  account, 
the  Emperor  Maxmilian  of  Germany  serving  under  him 
for  pay  like  an  ordinary  soldier.  There  was  a  battle 
fought  at  Guinegate,  near  Calais  (1513),  called  "The 
Battle  of  the  Spurs,"*  because  the  French  used  their 
spurs  so  freely  in  running  away.  Henry  took  the  towns 
of  Terouenne  and  Tournay,  but  went  home  again  with- 
out following  up  his  victory. 

Before  he  reached  England  an  event  had  occurred  in 
his  own  country  which  has  been  made  forever  famous 
by  the  pen  of  the  great  magician,  Walter  Scott,  in 
"Marmion."  This  was  the  battle  of  Flodden  Field, 
where  Henry's  brother-in-law,  James  IV.  of  Scotland, 
lost  his  life  (1513).  King  James  had  made  an  alliance 
with  France,  and  invaded  England  with  the  whole 
strength  of  his  army,  including  the  flower  of  his  nobility. 
After  an  obstinate  battle  the  Scots  were  defeated. 

"  Their  king,  their  lords,  their  mightiest  low, 
They  melted  from  the  field  as  snow, 
When  streams  are  swollen  and  south  winds  blow, 
Dissolves  in  silent  dew." 

*  Sometimes  called  "The  Second  Battle  of  the  Spurs,"  the  first 
having  taken  place  at  Courtrai,  in  Flanders  (1302),  where  the 
knights'  gilt  spurs  were  picked  up  by  the  bushel  and  hung  as 
trophies  in  the  great  church. 


SIXTEENTH  CENTURY.      HENRY  VIII.  199 

Peace  with  Scotland  and  France  soon  followed,  and 
Henry  cemented  it  by  marrying  his  youngest  sister, 
Mary,  a  girl  of  sixteen,  to  Louis  XII.  of  France,  who 
-was  fifty-two  years  old  and  in  very  feeble  health.  The 
Princess  was  already  betrothed  to  Charles  Brandon, 
Duke  of  Suffolk,  one  of  the  most  gallant  of  English 
Icnights,  but  this  made  no  difference  to  Henry.  His  self- 
will  always  overruled  every  consideration,  whether  of 
sympathy,  honor  or  truth;  and  she  was  forced  to  submit. 
In  less  than  three  months  her  husband  died,  and  not 
long  afterward  she  married  Brandon  in  Paris,  with  the 
•consent  of  the  new  king,  Francis  I.  Henry  professed  to 
be  very  angry  at  this,  but  the  money  and  jewels  which 
his  sister  brought  back  from  France  soon  reconciled 
him  to  the  match. 

With  all  King  Henry's  obstinacy  and  self-will,  he  was 
gradually  falling  under  the  influence  of  a  man  stronger- 
minded  than  himself,  who  was  destined  to  shape  his 
•course  of  conduct  for  many  years.  This  was  Thomas 
Wolsey,  one  of  the  most  remarkable  men  of  his  age  or  of 
any  age,  who  had  risen  from  a  very  humble  station,  (it 
is  said  that  he  was  the  son  of  a  butcher  at  Ipswich,)  to 
be  Bishop  of  Lincoln  and  Archbishop  of  York,  and 
finally  to  receive  a  cardinal's  hat  from  the  pope.  He 
was  a  man  of  extensive  learning  and  varied  accomplish- 
ments, and  in  addition  to  wit  and  gayety  and  most 
agreeable  manners,  possessed  a  talent  for  statesmanship 
which  soon  .made  him,  unconsciously  to  the  king,  his 
director  in  all  public  affairs.  Henry  made  him  Chancel- 
lor, and  Wolsey  followed  the  practice  of  the  age  in  living 
in  the  utmost  splendor  and  luxury.  Henry  loaded  him 
with  offices  that  brought  him  both  honor  and  profit,  but 


200  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

the  Cardinal's  grasping  nature  was  never  satisfied,  and 
he  contrived  constantly  to  add  to  his  immense  fortune. 
As  chancellor,  his  administration  was  strict  and  im- 
partial; in  private  life  his  character  was  blameless;  but 
avarice  and  ambition  obscured  his  better  qualities  and 
prepared  for  him  a  miserable  end. 

In  1519,  the  Emperor  Maximilian  died,  and  the  em- 
pire, being  elective,  became  a  tempting  prize  to  the  one 
who  could  secure  it.  The  choice  fell  upon  Charles  I.  of 
Spain,  grandson  of  Maximilian  and  also  of  Ferdinand 
the  Catholic,  in  opposition  to  Francis  I.  of  France,  who 
ardently  desired  to  be  emperor.  The  successful  candi- 
date is  known  thenceforth  in  history  as  the  Emperor 
Charles  V. 

Francis  was  very  angry  at  his  defeat,  and  both  he  and 
Charles  courted  the  favor  of  Henry  VIII.  Their  methods 
were  as  different  as  their  characters;  Francis  got  up  the 
superb  tournament  called  "The  Field  of  the  Cloth  of 
Gold;"  Charles  secretly  bribed  Wolsey  to  take  his  part 
by  promising  to  use  his  influence  to  have  him  made 
pope.  In  the  end,  Charles  prevailed;  but  the  tourna- 
ment, which  was  arranged  under  the  direction  of  Wolsey, 
was  the  most  splendid  entertainment  at  which  the  cour- 
tiers of  either  nation  ever  wasted  their  money.  It  lasted 
eighteen  days,  and  more  was  squandered  on  it,  as  was 
said  by  those  who  remembered  the  economical  days  of 
Henry  VII.  and  Louis  XII.  than  either  of  those  wise 
monarchs  would  have  spent  in  a  year.  The  wooden 
palace,  built  to  lodge  the  king  of  England  and  his  suite, 
extended  round  a  square  court,  each  side  of  which  was 
over  three  thousand  feet  in  length.  The  cardinal  had  a 
splendid  train  of  retainers,  and  each  English  gentleman 


SIXTEENTH  CENTUKY.      HENRY  VIII.          201 

took  as  many  followers  with  him  as  his  purse  could  pro- 
vide with  gorgeous  equipments.  Nearly  three  thousand 
tents,  most  of  them  covered  with  silk  or  cloth  of  gold, 
were  erected  on  the  plain  adjoining  the  principal  build- 
ings, and  many  a  man  "sold  his  land  to  buy  his  horse"; 
that  is,  ruined  himself  that  he  might  present  a  fitting 
appearance  at  the  festival.  "Many  of  the  nobles,"  says 
an  eye-witness  of  the  glittering  scene,  "carried  their 
castles,  woods,  and  farms  on  their  backs."  Francis,  who 
was  the  host  on  this  occasion,  was  not  behindhand  with 
his  hospitality.  Sumptuous  feasts  were  provided;  foun- 
tains ran  wine;  and  thousands  of  persons  who  came  to 
see  the  show  were  fed  at  the  king's  expense:  "Insomuch," 
says  the  historian  Hall,  who  was  present,  "that  there 
were  vagabonds,  plowmen,  waggoners,  and  beggars  that 
for  drunkenness  lay  in  routs  and  heaps."  The  negotia- 
tions carried  on  during  the  tournament  came  to  nothing, 
and  after  Henry's  return  to  England  the  royal  rivals  never 
met  again. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

HENRY   THE    TYRANT  ;   ALSO  "DEFENDER  OF  THE  FAITH." 

JJENRY  VIII.  had»  not  yet  begun  to  show  his 
darkest  side  to  his  people;  they  knew  him  to- 
be  extravagant  and  wilful,  but  the  cruel  jeal- 
ousy which  can  only  be  satisfied  with  blood,  he  was  yet 
to  exhibit. 

Edward  Stafford,  Duke  of  Buckingham,  was  a  distant 
relation  of  the  king.     His  father  was  beheaded  by  Rich- 


I 


•202  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

ard  III.  for  treason,  and  the  heads  of  three  generations 
of  his  family  before  that  had  been  killed  in  the  Wars  of 
the  Roses;  and  now  that  York  and  Lancaster  were  one, 
it  seemed  as  if  the  fifth  in  descent  might  live  out  his  life 
peaceably.  But  taking  advantage  of  an  unguarded  ex- 
pression of  Buckingham's  to  the  effect  that  he  would  be 
the  next  in  the  line  of  succession  if  the  king  should  die 
without  children,  Henry  ordered  him  to  be  executed  on 
as  false  a  charge  of  treason  as  ever  sent  a  subject  to  the 
block. 

The  old  question  of  religion  now  came  up  again.  A 
German  monk  named  Martin  Luther  had  taken  up  the 
•work  which  John  Wycliffe  left  unfinished  a  hundred  and 
fifty  years  before,  and  boldly  attacked  some  of  the  prin- 
ciples and  practices  of  the  Roman  Church,  especially  the 
sale  of  indulgences,  or  remissions  of  penalties  for  sins 
committed.  Tetzel,  an  agent  of  Pope  Leo  X.,  was  then 
hawking  these  indulgences  about,  in  order  to  supply  Leo 
with  money  for  building  the  Church  of  St.  Peter  at  Rome, 
and  Luther  thundered  forth  denunciations  of  the  unchris- 
tian practice.  Henry  had  been  brought  up  a  good  Cath- 
olic, and  Luther's  utterances  seemed  to  him  monstrous. 
In  his  zeal  he  wrote  a  book  against  these  heretical  doc- 
trines, for  which  the  pope  gave  him  the  name  of  "Defender 
of  the  Faith."  In  Latin  (the  language  then  used  by  the 
governments  of  Europe  in  their  communications  with 
one  another)  the  words  are  "Fidei  Defensor;"  and  as  all 
English  sovereigns  have  inherited  the  title  from  Henry 
VIII.  you  may  still  read  them  on  some  of  the  coins  of 
Queen  Victoria  (Fid.  Def). 

After  the  death  of  Leo  X.,  two  successive  popes  had 
been  elected  without  a  voice  being  raised  in  Wolsey's 


HENRY  THE    TYRANT.  203 

favor.  He  thought  that  the  emperor  (Charles  V.)  was 
treating  him  very  badly,  and  induced  Henry  to  break  off 
liis  alliance  with  him  and  take  up  the  cause  of  Francis  I. 
who  had  just  been  taken  prisoner  by  Charles  at  the  battle 
of  Pavia.  Henry  readily  consented,  but  turned  the  mat- 
ter to  his  own  advantage  by  demanding  an  enormous 
present  payment  in  money  from  France,  and  a  yearly 
pension  during  his  life.  When  Francis  was  released,  he 
and  Henry  joined  together  to  liberate  the  pope,  who  was 
also  a  prisoner,  Rome  having  been  taken  and  sacked  by 
the  brutal  soldiery  of  Charles  V.  These  matters  being 
.settled,  Henry  was  at  liberty  to  look  after  his  own  affairs. 
He  had  now  been  married  to  Katherine  of  Aragon  for 
•eighteen  years.  All  their  sons  had  died,  and  only  one 
•child  remained,  the  Princess  Mary.  Outwardly,  Henry 
was  as  loving  as  ever,  but  he  had  for  a  long  time  been 
secretly  turning  over  in  his  mind  the  possibility  of  getting 
rid  of  his  wife.  He  professed  to  feel  doubts  as  to  whether 
his  marriage  with  her  had  been  lawful,  as  she  was  his 
brother's  widow;  but  Pope  Julius  II.  had  given  permis- 
•sion  for  the  marriage,  and  in  those  days  that  was  enough 
to  decide  any  question.  Henry,  however,  had  a  young 
lady  in  his  mind,  Anne  Boleyn,  one  of  the  queen's  maids 
of  honor,  whom  he  wished  to  put  in  Katherine's  place, 
.and  his  scruples  became  stronger  and  his  conscience 
more  tender  than  ever.  He  applied  to  the  pope,  Clement 
VII.,  for  a  divorce,  and  the  latter,  not  wishing  to  offend 
him,  gave  him  promise  of  a  favorable  answer,  but  man- 
aged to  put  off  the  matter,  in  various  ways,  for  several 
years.  He  first  sent  Cardinal  Campeggio  to  look  into  it, 
in  connection  with  Cardinal  Wolsey,  The  two  legates 
.(as  the  pope's  ambassadors  are  called)  opened  a  court 


204  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

for  hearing  the  case.  The  king  answered  promptly  to 
his  name;  the  queen  refused  to  appear,  and  the  two  car- 
dinals talked  about  it  and  about  it  until  finally  the  pope 
broke  up  the  court  and  said  the  king  and  queen  must 
come  to  Rome  and  have  the  case  tried  there.* 

Henry  was  enraged  beyond  measure  at  this  insult,  and 
was  trying  to  make  up  his  mind  what  he  should  do  next, 
when  Dr.  Thomas  Cranmer,  of  Cambridge,  suggested 
that  it  would  be  a  good  plan  to  send  to  the  great  univer- 
sities of  Europe  and  ask  their  opinion  on  the  question, 
"Is  it  lawful  for  a  man  to  marry  his  brother's  widow?" 
Henry  was  delighted  with  this  proposal,  and  sent  at  once 
for  Cranmer,  whom  he  had  never  seen;  and  finding  that 
the  doctor  was  going  to  be  a  useful  instrument  in  carrying 
out  his  projects,  instantly  took  him  into  his  service  and 
loaded  him  with  favors. 

As  Cranmer's  influence  rose,  Wolsey's  declined.  He 
had  not,  the  king  thought,  shown  himself  zealous  enough 
in  the  matter  of  the  divorce,  and  he  had  not  pointed  out 
a  way  to  end  the  difficulty,  as  Cranmer  had;  and  the 
friend  and  counsellor  of  twenty  years  was  thrown  over  in 
a  moment.  He  was  banished  from  the  court,  and  the 
Great  Seal  (which  denoted  his  office  as  Chancellor)  was 
taken  away  from  him;  while  Anne  Boleyn,  who  hated 
him  because  he  did  not  approve  of  the  king's  marrying 
her,  made  Henry  promise  never  to  see  Wolsey  again. 
The  cardinal  was  accused,  by  the  king's  orders,  of 
treason,  because  he  had  held  a  court  in  England  as 
legate  from  the  pope,  which  was  against  English  law; 

*  For  an  account  of  the  trial  in  London,  which  follows  historjr 
very  closely,  see  Shakspeare's  "  Henry  VIII. "  Act  II.  scene  IV.  Also- 
the  scene  following,  for  the  queen's  interview  with  the  cardinals. 


HENRY   THE    TYRANT.  205 

though  Henry  himself  had  commanded  it,  under  his  own 
hand  and  seal,  and  appeared  before  it  as  a  suitor.  All 
the  cardinal's  houses,  lands  and  goods  were  declared 
forfeited,  and  his  life  was  granted  only  by  the  king's 
mercy.  His  enormous  wealth,  amounting  in  value  to 
several  millions  of  dollars,  was  swept  at  once  into 
Henry's  coffers;  his  palaces  of  Hampton  Court  and 
York  House  (now  Whitehall)  were  confiscated,  and  he 
was  sentenced  to  retire  to  his  Archbishopric  of  York,  a 
disgraced  and  banished  man.  His  spirit  was  utterly 
broken.  The  French  ambassador  wrote  of  him:  "His 
face  has  shrunken  to  half  its  natural  size,  and  his  misery 
is  so  great  that  even  his  enemies  can  not  help  pitying 
him."  In  his  retirement  he  appeared  dignified  and  com- 
posed, and  won  all  hearts  by  his  kindness  and  gener- 
osity. But  Anne  Boleyn's  spite  was  not  yet  gratified, 
and  within  a  year  Wolsey  was  summoned  to  London  on 
a  charge  of  treason.  Fortunately,  he  did  not  live  to  get 
there,  and  Henry  was  spared  the  last  disgrace  of  bring- 
ing his  head  to  the  block.  The  cardinal  was  taken  sick 
on  his  way  to  London,  and  died  at  Leicester  Abbey 
(1530).  His  last  recorded  words  were,  "If  I  had  served 
God  as  diligently  as  I  have  served  the  king,  He  would 
not  have  given  me  over  in  my  gray  hairs."  He  had 
lived  a  selfish  and  grasping  life,  and  the  consciousness  of 
it  came  to  him  too  late. 

Among  Wolsey's  good  deeds  was  the  founding  of  a 
college  at  Oxford.  Each  of  the  great  universities  of 
England  consists  of  many  colleges,  which  have  been 
added  at  different  times  as  there  seemed  to  be  a  neces- 
sity for  them.  Wolsey's  was  called  Cardinal's  College, 
and  was  unfinished  at  the  time  of  his  disgrace.  The 


206  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

king  immediately  seized  it,  but  afterward  allowed  it  to- 
be  completed  with  funds  which  the  Cardinal  had  set 
aside  for  that  purpose,  and  changed  the  name  of  it  to 
Christ  Church  College. 

Henry  married  Anne  Boleyn  privately,  without  wait- 
ing for  the  divorce  that  was  so  slow  in  coming.  After 
the  answers  arrived  from  the  universities  to  which  he 
had  appealed,  and  which  were  generally  favorable  to  his 
wishes,  he  had  a  divorce  pronounced  by  Cranmer,  whom 
he  had  made  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  when  a  vacancy 
occurred.  This  measure  was  followed  by  a  series  of  acts 
passed  by  a  Parliament  called  for  the  purpose,  freeing 
England  from  the  dominion  of  the  pope.  The  king  was 
declared  to  be  the  supreme  Head  of  the  Church  in  Eng- 
land, and  all  persons  were  forbidden  to  pay  tribute  to- 
the  pope  or  in  any  way  acknowledge  his  authority,  under 
penalty  of  a  charge  of  high-treason.  Sir  Thomas  More,  • 
a  learned,  wise  and  excellent  man  who  had  been  made 
Chancellor  in  Wolsey's  place,  gave  up  the  Great  Seal 
rather  than  to  countenance  what  he  considered  an  act  of 
iniquity.*  For  refusing  to  take  the  oath  acknowledging 
the  king's  supremacy  and  declaring  his  marriage  with 
Katherine  to  be  unlawful,  Sir  Thomas  More  and  John 
Fisher,  Bishop  of  Rochester,  were  sent  to  the  Tower. 
After  an  imprisonment  of  more  than  a  year,  and  a  most 
unfair  trial,  they  were  both  beheaded  (1535).  Fisher 

*  Sir  Thomas  More  was  the  greatest  author  of  his  time.  He- 
wrote  a  book  called  "Utopia,"  which  was  really  a  keen  satire  on 
the  existing  government  of  England,  but  a  satire  so  delicately  con- 
veyed that  it  gave  no  offence  even  to  the  jealous  king.  More's 
ideas  on  the  social  system  and  the  labor  question  were  hundreds  of 
years  in  advance  of  his  age. 


HENRY  THE    TYRANT.  207 

might  possibly  have  escaped,  but  the  pope,  just  at  this, 
time,  imprudently  proposed  to  make  him  a  cardinal. 
"The  pope  may  send  him  a  cardinal's  hat,"  said  Henry, 
"but  he  shall  have  no  head  to  wear  it  on;"  and  soon 
after  the  honor  was  conferred  upon  him,  the  king  made 
good  his  word  by  ordering  him  to  the  block. 

Paul  III.  had  still  in  his  hands  the  old  weapon  of  ex- 
communication, which  he  had  used  with  such  effect  in 
the  time  of  Henry  II.  and  his  son  King  John,  and  he 
soon  hurled  it  forth  against  Henry  VIII.  But  all  it 
could  do  was  to  increase  Henry's  rage  against  Rome,, 
and  in  order  to  deal  a  last  blow,  he  began  breaking  up- 
the  monasteries,  beginning  with  the  smaller  ones.  The 
excuse  for  this  was  the  evil  life  led  by  many  of  the 
monks,  and  the  exactions  of  the  church,  which  ate  away 
the  substance  of  the  poor.  The  abolition  of  the  mon- 
asteries caused  great  distress  among  the  idlers  who  had 
been  fed  at  their  doors,  and  among  the  peasants  who  had 
been  used  to  pasturing  their  cattle  on  the  commons- 
belonging  to  them;  and  the  discontent  arising  from  these 
causes  brought  on  a  rebellion  called,  "The  Pilgrimage 
of  Grace,"  which  was  suppressed  by  the  Duke  of  Norfolk, 
the  same  who,  as  Earl  of  Surrey,  had  gained  the  battle 
of  Flodden.*  After  this,  such  monasteries  as  were  not 
voluntary  given  up  were  taken  by  force,  their  immense 

*  The  king  wrote  to  him,  ' '  You  shall  in  any  wise  cause  such 
dreadful  execution  to  be  done  upon  a  good  number  of  the  inhabi- 
tants of  every  town,  village  and  hamlet  that  has  offended,  as  well 
by  the  hanging  of  them  up  in  trees  as  by  the  quartering  of  then> 
and  the  setting  of  their  heads  and  quarters  in  every  town,  as  they 
may  be  a  fearful  spectacle  to  all  hereafter  as  would  practise  any 
like  matter." 


208  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

revenues  falling  into  the  king's  hands,  and  their  houses 
and  lands  being  given  to  his  favorite  courtiers  or  ab- 
sorbed into  his  private  possessions.  A  special  spite  was 
shown  in  regard  to  the  tomb  of  St.  Thomas  a  Becket  at 
Canterbury.  As  he  was  considered  to  be  the  arch- 
offender  in  upholding  the  supremacy  of  the  Church,  his 
name  was  struck  from  the  calendar  of  saints,  his  shrine 
was  torn  down,  the  rich  gifts  of  four  hundred  years  being 
seized  by  the  king;  the  coffin  was  emptied  of  its  contents 
and  the  bones  were  dispersed  to  the  winds. 

Henry's  chief  agent  in  the  destruction  of  the  monas- 
teries was  Thomas  Cromwell,  a  man  of  immense  ability, 
who  is  credited  with  having  first  suggested  to  the  king 
the  doctrine  of  his  own  supremacy  in  matters  of  religion. 
Cromwell  had  been  the  private  secretary  of  Cardinal 
Wolsey  until  the  fall  of  that  minister,  and  under  his  piti- 
less rule  blood  flowed  like  water  whenever  the  slightest 
opposition  seemed  to  threaten  the  king's  absolute  domin- 
ion. One  of  the  strangest  things  about  Henry's  reign  is 
the  fact  that  no  matter  how  outrageous  were  his  assump- 
tions, he  always  found  Parliaments  ready  to  do  his  will. 
At  one  time,  when  he  had  borrowed  large  sums  of  money 
from  his  subjects,  for  the  repayment  of  which  he  had 
given  bonds  and  other  securities,  the  Parliament  gener- 
ously annulled  all  his  obligations,  and  his  unfortunate 
creditors  could  only  "pocket  the  loss."  So  long  did  what 
Shakspeare  calls  "the  divinity  that  doth  hedge  a  king," 
impose  upon  the  most  intelligent  nation  in  Europe  ! 


THE  ENGLISH  BIBLE.       EDI  ARD   VI.         209 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 
HENRY'S  WIVES.     THE  ENGLISH  BIBLE.     EDWARD  vi. 

JE  must  now  go  back  several  years  to  take  up 
some  details  of  Henry's  private  life  which  have 
a  bearing  on  history.  Queen  Katherine  had 
died  in  her  house  at  Kimbolton,  and  Queen  Anne  had 
given  birth  to  a  princess  named  Elizabeth,  after  the  king's 
mother.  But  Henry,  who  grew  more  fickle  and  capri- 
cious every  year,  had  seen  among  Anne's  maids  of  honor 
a  young  lady  named  Jane  Seymour,  who  attracted  his 
admiration,  and  from  that  moment  his  only  thought  was 
how  he  might  get  rid  of  Anne,  as  he  had  done  of  Kath- 
erine. Charges  of  misconduct  were  brought  against  her, 
and  witnesses  procured  to  swear  to  them  (an  easy 
matter)  so  the  pretty  young  queen  was  beheaded  on 
Tower  Hill.  "My  neck  is  but  a  little  one,"  she  said;  "it 
will  not  give  the  executioner  much  trouble."  Henry  now 
called  a  Parliament  (for  the  one  which  made  laws  against 
the  pope  had  been  dismissed  after  sitting  seven  years) 
and  made  them  say  that  the  princesses  Mary  and  Eliza- 
beth could  not  lawfully  be  queens  of  England;  so  when 
a  little  son  was  born  to  Queen  Jane  he  was  very  much 
delighted. 

Nothing  can  be  more  erroneous  than  to  call  Henry  the 
Eighth  the  author  of  the  English  Reformation.  He  was 
the  enemy  of  the  pope,  and  through  his  means  some 
reforms  were  effected  in  the  practices  of  the  Church  of 
Rome  in  England;  but  the  belief  which  finally  settled 
-down  into  English  Protestantism  was  the  belief,  not  of 
Henry  the  Eighth,  but  of  Luther. 
14 


210  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

Neither  must  it  be  supposed  that  because  Henry  VIII. 
quarrelled  with  the  pope  and  plundered  the  monasteries,, 
he  was  a  convert  to  the  Protestant  doctrine.  On  the 
contrary,  he  caused  a  law  to  be  passed  by  Parliament 
that  all  persons  who  did  not  believe  in  six  articles  of 
faith  set  forth  by  himself,  and  which  contain  the  sub- 
stance of  the  Roman  Catholic  belief,  should  suffer  the 
penalties  of  heresy.  The  "six  articles"  went  by  the 
name  of  "The  Whip  with  Six  Strings;"  but  it  was  more 
terrible  than  a  whip.  It  meant  burning  at  the  stake  for 
those  who  refused  to  subscribe  to  the  doctrines.  These 
were,  Transubstantiation ;  *  that  the  laity  should  partake 
only  of  bread  and  not  of  wine  at  the  Holy  Communion; 
that  private  masses  ought  to  be  said  for  the  dead;  that 
confession  to  priests  was  necessary;  and  two  others 
which  forbade  the  marriage  of  priests  and  nuns. 

So  the  burnings,  hangings,  rackings,t  torturings,  went 
on;  all  who  believed  in  the  Reformed  religion  were  lia- 
ble to  them,  and  all  faithful  Catholics  who  questioned 
the  king's  supremacy  were  in  danger  of  losing  their 
heads.  Among  the  former  class  of  victims  was  Anne 
Ascue,  a  young  lady  belonging  to  the  court,  whose  fate 
excited  much  sympathy.  She  was  burned  alive,  after 
being  first  inhumanly  racked.  Of  the  other  class,  a 
shameful  instance  was  that  of  Margaret,  Countess  of 
Salisbury,  sister  to  the  young  Earl  of  Warwick  who  was 
beheaded  by  Henry  VII.,  and  daughter  of  Clarence, 
Edward  IV. 's  brother.  Her  son,  Cardinal  Pole,  was  in 
Rome  with  the  pope,  and  from  there  wrote  very  hard 

*The  change  of  the  substance  of  the  bread  and  wine  into  the 
actual  body  and  blood  of  Christ. 
tA  horrible  kind  of  torture. 


THE  ENGLISH  BIBLE.       EDWARD   VI.         211 

things  against  King  Henry;  and  as  the  latter  could  not 
get  hold  of  the  cardinal,  (though  he  invited  him  to  come 
to  England  and  discuss  the  matter !)  he  seized  his  mother 
and  brother,  and  as  many  others  of  the  family  as  he 
could  lay  hold  of,  and  had  them  killed  for  correspond- 
ing with  him.  The  countess  was  the  hardest  to  deal 
with.  She  refused  to  lay  her  head  on  the  block  at  the 
executioner's  bidding;  that  was  for  traitors,  she  said,  and 
she  was  no  traitor;  she  moved  it  swiftly  from  side  to 
side,  this  woman  in  her  eightieth  year,  and  finally,  with 
two  men  holding  it  down  by  force,  the  axe  after  many 
blows  severed  it  from  her  body.  She  was  nearly  related 
to  the  king. 

Queen  Jane  Seymour  die.d  soon  alter  her  son's  birth, 
and  Henry  began  to  look  out  for  another  wife.  A  cer- 
tain Duchess  of  Milan,  who  was  approached  on  the  sub- 
ject, said  that  if  she  had  two  heads,  one  should  be  at  his 
majesty's  service;  but  that  having  only  one,  she  pre- 
ferred to  keep  it.  Finally  Cromwell  picked  out  a  Pro- 
testant princess,  Anne  of  Cleves,  whose  picture  by  the 
famous  painter,  Holbein,  pleased  the  king.  But  when 
the  lady  herself  came,  Henry  found  her  plain-looking 
and  stupid.  She  knew  not  a  word  of  any  language  but 
German,  which  he  did  not  speak;  and  she  had  no 
accomplishments.  So  she  was  soon  divorced,  on  some 
shabby  pretext,  and  the  king's  wrath  fell  on  Cromwell. 
The  unfortunate  minister,  whose  only  fault  had  been 
untiring  devotion  to  the  king's  wishes  and  interests,  was 
accused  of  treason  and  beheaded.  Anne  of  Cleves  was 
comfortably  pensioned  off,  and  lived  in  England  until 
her  death,  surviving  her  inconstant  husband  ten  years. 

Henry  next  married  Katherine  Howard,  a  relative  of 


212  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

the  Duke  of  Norfolk.  She  was  really  a  bad  woman  and 
there  was  little  difficulty  in  getting  her  head  cut  off  soon 
after  her  marriage.  His  sixth  wife  was  Katherine  Parr, 
widow  of  Lord  Latimer,  who  conducted  herself  so  dis- 
creetly, and  proved  such  a  good  nurse  to  the  miserable 
diseased  monster  that  she  outlasted  the  king  himself. 

A  war  with  Scotland  is  the  only  foreign  event  of 
importance  during  the  remainder  of  this  reign.  James 
V.,  son  of  Henry's  sister  Margaret,  had  married  a  Cath- 
olic wife,  and  was  much  influenced  by  her  family,  the 
Guises,  a  set  of  powerful  French  nobles.  This  made 
Henry  dislike  him,  and  border  warfare  had  been  going 
on  for  some  time  between  the  two  countries,  when  the 
Scottish  king  suddenly  sent  an  army  into  England,  which 
was  defeated  at  the  battle  of  Solway  Moss.  James,  a 
low-spirited  and  timid  person,  took  to  his  bed  on  hear- 
ing of  the  disaster;  and  being  told  that  he  was  the 
father  of  a  little  daughter,  sighed  out,  "The  crown  came 
with  a  lass  and  it  will  go  with  one."*  He  died  five  days 
afterward,  and  Henry  at  once  began  negotiations  for 
marrying  the  infant  Princess  Mary  to  his  son  Edward. 
This  being  refused,  an  aimless  war  was  carried  on  with 
Scotland  and  France  for  about  three  years,  when,  after 
an  enormous  waste  of  money  and  very  little  fighting,  both 
sides  were  ready  for  peace. 

Several  translations  of  the  Bible  were  made  in  Henry 
VIII. 's  reign.  William  Tyndale  published  at  Antwerp 
(1526)  an  English  version  of  the  New  Testament,  and 
Miles  Coverdale  made  the  first  translation  of  the  entire 

*  David  Bruce,  son  of  Robert  I.,  had  no  sons.  His  daughter 
Marjory  married  Walter  Stuart,  and  thus  became  the  ancestress  of 
the  Stuart  kings  of  Scotland. 


THE  ENGLISH  BIBLE.       EDIVARD    VI.         213 

Bible  (1535).  Four  years  later,  a  copy  of  Cranmer's  or 
"The  Great  Bible"  was,  by  the  king's  order,  placed  in 
every  parish  church  in  England.*  A  part  of  the  church 
service  was  also  translated  by  Cranmer  from  Latin  into 
English,  thus  helping  to  establish  a  truly  national  church. 

Nothing  needs  to  be  added  to  a  record  of  the  deeds 
of  Henry  the  Eighth.  Tyrant  and  murderer,  the  slave 
of  his  passions,  the  capricious  ruler  of  the  destinies  of 
others,  our  disgust  overpowers  every  other  feeling  in 
thinking  of  him.  Yet  even  this  wretch  has  found  apolo- 
gists ;  and  there  are  historians  who  dwell  on  his  energy, 
his  courage,  and  his  vigor  of  mind;  but  when  these  are 
applied  to  hateful  purposes  they  lose  their  lustre  in  our 
eyes.  It  has  often  been  a  matter  of  wonder  why,  in 
spite  of  his  monstrous  tyranny,  he  should  have  been 
popular  with  the  great  mass  of  the  people.  With  them 
he  was  "Bluff  King  Hal"  to  the  last.  In  the  first  place, 
it  was  hard  to  shake  their  idea  of  the  sacredness  of  the 
crown;  and  then,  his  cruelties  fell  almost  entirely  upon 
the  higher  classes.  If  the  poorer  ones  opposed  his  will, 
as  in  the  "Pilgrimage  of  Grace,"  they  too  felt  the  weight 
of  his  hand;  but  it  seldom  happened  that  his  interests 
and  theirs  were  brought  into  direct  collision. 

Henry  has  been  called  a  patron  of  learning.  He 
founded  Trinity  College  in  Cambridge,  and  encouraged 
the  "New  Learning"  as  the  study  of  Greek  was  called, 
though  the  credit  of  that  belonged  more  to  Cardinal 
Wolsey  and  to  some  eminent  men  in  the  universities 
themselves.  The  greatest  author  of  the  age,  Sir  Thomas 
More,  was  sent  to  the  block  for  being  a  good  Catholic ; 

*  It  is  from  this  Bible  that  the  version  of  the  Psalms  ir  the  pres- 
ent English  Book  of  Common  Prayer  is  taken. 


214  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

the  finest  poet,  Lord  Surrey,  met  the  same  fate  because 
he  was  a  distant  relative  of  the  king's,  and  Sir  Thomas 
Wyatt,  also  a  poet,  came  very  near  having  his  head  cut 
off  on  the  charge  of  having  been  a  lover  of  Anne 
Boleyn's.  These  three  were  the  most  famous  writers  of 
Henry's  time.  John  Heywood  wrote  dramatic  pieces  of 
small  value,  of  a  kind  called  "Interludes,"  and  the  histo- 
rians, Fabyan  and  Hall,  added  their  chronicles  to  the 
growing  mass  of  English  annals. 

Henry  died  after  a  reign  of  38  years  (1547)  in  the 
fifty-sixth  year  of  his  age. 

Edward  VI.,  son  of  Henry  VIII.  and  Jane  Seymour, 
was  ten  years  old  at  the  time  of  his  father's  death.  Lord 
Hertford,  the  young  king's  uncle  and  brother  of  Lady 
Jane,  was  made  Protector  with  the  assistance  of  a  coun- 
cil. The  new  council  was  composed  mostly  of  Protes- 
tants, and  as  the  young  king  had  been  brought  up  in  the 
same  belief,  the  reformed  religion  was  established  at 
once.  The  law  requiring  adherence  to  the  Six  Articles 
was  repealed,  together  with  all  those  directed  against 
what  was  still  called  "Lollardy,"  and  the  Book  of  Com- 
mon Prayer  was  completed  by  Cranmer  and  made  the 
established  service  of  the  Church.  An  act  was  passed 
allowing  the  marriage  of  the  clergy,  while  another  re- 
pealed the  statutes  against  heresy;  and  though  the  Eng- 
lish mind  had  not  yet  arrived  at  the  great  doctrine  of 
toleration  in  religious  matters,  the  blood  penalty  for 
wrong  believing  fell  for  a  time  into  disuse. 

The  change  of  religion  was  not  accomplished  without 
some  disturbance.  In  several  parts  of  England  the 
people  rose  in  rebellion,  demanding  the  restoration  of 
the  mass,  and  other  religious  observances  to  which  they 


THE  ENGLISH  BIBLE.       EDWARD    VI.         215 

had  been  accustomed;  but  these  were  soon  put  down, 
and  all  acquiesced,  outwardly  at  least,  in  the  new  forms 
of  worship. 

Determined  to  carry  out  Henry's  intentions  of  uniting 
the  kingdoms  of  Scotland  and  England  by  marriage,  the 
Protector  (now  created  Duke  of  Somerset)  led  an  army 
into  Scotland  and  defeated  the  Scots  at  the  battle  of 
Pinkie.  He  did  not,  however,  secure  the  young  queen, 
who  was  soon  afterward  betrothed  to  the  Dauphin  of 
France. 

Somerset  hurried  back  from  Scotland  at  the  news  that 
his  brother,  Lord  Seymour  (who  had  married  Henry 
VIII. 's  widow,  Katherine  Parr),  was  forming  a  party 
against  him.  He  succeeded  in  making  the  Parliament 
pass  a  bill  of  attainder  *  against  Seymour,  and  the  latter 
was  beheaded.  In  a  few  years,  Somerset  himself  suffered 
the  same  fate.  It  was  not  difficult  in  those  times  of  an 
irregular  and  uncertain  hold  upon  power,  to  find  charges 
against  almost  any  man  who  conducted  public  affairs, 
and  Somerset  had  undoubtedly  been  arbitrary,  taking 
more  upon  himself  than  if  he  had  been  indeed  a  king. 

John  Dudley,  Earl  of  Warwick  (son  of  Henry  VII. 's 
minister),  who  had  been  made  Duke  of  Northumberland, 
now  saw  his  way  clear  to  succeed  to  the  Protector's 
power,  and  never  rested  until  Somerset  had  been  brought 
to  the  scaffold  (1552).  Edward  VI.,  while  his  uncle's  trial 
was  going  on,  was  amusing  himself  at  tournaments,  balls, 
and  banquets,  it  being  just  at  the  time  of  the  Christmas 
holidays;  and  on  the  22nd  of  January  there  is  a  busi- 
ness-like entry  in  the  journal  which  he  kept,  and  which 

*  An  act  of  Parliament  declaring  a  person  guilty  of  treason  and 
condemning  him  without  trial  in  any  court  of  law. 


216  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

is  most  valuable  for  historical  reference,  "The  Duke  of 
Somerset  had  his  head  cut  off  upon  Tower-hill,  between 
eight  and  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning."  This  was  his 
mother's  brother,  and  a  man  who,  as  far  as  we  know,, 
had  never  been  otherwise  than  kind  to  him. 

King  Edward  was  now  drawing  near  his  end.  He  was 
so  evidently  in  a  consumption  that  Northumberland 
began  to  make  plans  for  keeping  the  control  of  public 
affairs  in  his  own  hands  by  marrying  his  fourth  son,  Guil- 
ford  Dudley,  to  Edward's  cousin,  Lady  Jane  Grey.  The 
king,  intensely  interested  in  the  reformed  religion  and 
dreading  that  a  Roman  Catholic  should  rule  his  country, 
was  easily  persuaded  to  set  aside  his  sisters  in  his  will, 
and  declare  Lady  Jane  the  true  heir  to  the  crown. 
Shortly  before  Edward's  death,  the  duke,  finding  that 
the  physicians  were  doing  him  no  good,  turned  him  over 
to  the  care  of  an  ignorant  woman,  under  whose  treat- 
ment he  grew  rapidly  worse,  and  died  (1553)  after  a 
reign  of  six  years,  in  the  sixteenth  year  of  his  age. 

Edward  VI.  was  a  studious  boy,  very  religious,  and  had 
apparently  an  amiable  disposition.  He  was  fond  of  his 
half-sister,  Elizabeth,  who  was  only  a  few  years  older 
than  himself,  and  was  a  Protestant,  besides;  while  with 
the  gloomy  Mary  he  had  very  little  sympathy.  What 
kind  of  king  he  would  have  made  if  he  had  lived  to  grow 
up  is  a  question  which  can  not  now  be  settled. 


LADY  JANE   GREY.       BLOODY  MARY.         217 
CHAPTER  XXVII. 

LADY  JANE  GREY.       BLOODY  MARY.       CALAIS. 

ADY  Jane  Grey  (for  so  she  is  always  called, 
though  by  her  marriage  she  became  Lady 
Jane  Dudley)  was  a  granddaughter  of  Henry 
VIII. ;s  second  sister,  Mary,  Duchess  of  Suffolk.  She 
was  probably  the  best  educated  woman  in  England,  ex- 
cept the  Princess  Elizabeth,  and  was  as  lovely  in  char- 
acter as  she  was  cultivated  in  mind.  She  had  no  desire 
to  be  queen,  but  yielded  to  the  wishes  of  her  father-in- 
law  and  of  her  own  father.  Northumberland's  procla- 
mation of  her  was  received  in  ominous  silence,  and  one 
poor  boy  called  Gilbert  Pot  had  his  ears  first  nailed  to 
the  pillory  and  then  cut  off,  for  "speaking  words"  about 
the  new  queen.  Queen  Mary,  meantime,  instead  of 
being  "quiet  and  obedient"  as  Northumberland  advised 
her  to  be,  collected  an  army  at  once  and  prepared  to 
march  to  London.  The  duke  thought  of  resisting;  but 
seeing  how  much  superior  in  numbers  her  army  was  to 
his  own,  changed  his  mind  and  joined  in  hurrahing  for 
her.  Mary  mounted  the  throne.  Northumberland  was 
arrested  and  sent  to  the  Tower,  as  were  also  Lady  Jane 
and  her  husband  and  many  of  her  supporters.  Most  of 
the  latter  were  pardoned,  but  the  duke  was  executed 
after  a  short  trial,  while  Lord  Guilford  Dudley  and  his 
wife,  the  ten-days  queen,  were  left  in  prison  under  sen- 
tence of  death. 

If  Jane  had  had  even  a  fair  showing  of  right  on  her 
side,  there  is  little  doubt  that  many  Protestants  would 


218  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

have  flocked  to  her  assistance  and  the  country  would 
have  been  convulsed  by  civil  war;  but  Edward  VI.'s 
attempt  to  place  her  on  the  throne  was  so  clearly  a 
usurpation  that  they  had  no  sympathy  with  it.  The  law- 
abiding  instincts  of  the  nation  asserted  their  superiority 
over  their  preferences,  and  there  was  never  for  a  moment 
any  chance  that  an  unlawful  cause  should  triumph. 

The  queen's  first  care  was  to  restore  the  Roman  Cath- 
olic religion.  The  bishops  who  had  been  turned  out  by 
Henry  for  denying  his  supremacy  were  at  once  recalled, 
while  several  of  the  most  noted  of  the  reformed  ones, 
among  others,  Cranmer,  Hooper,  Ridley,  and  Latimer, 
were  thrown  into  prison.  All  the  statutes  of  Edward 
VI.'s  reign  regarding  religion  were  repealed  in  a  lump, 
and  Mary  sent  word  to  the  pope  that  it  was  the  first  wish 
of  her  heart  that  the  country  should  be  "reconciled"  with 
the  Church  of  Rome.  The  Parliament  passed  an  act 
annulling  the  divorce  pronounced  by  Cranmer  between 
Henry  VIII.  and  Katherine  of  Aragon,  thus  putting  it 
beyond  a  doubt  that  Mary  was  England's  lawful  queen. 

Mary  was  now  thirty-seven  years  old,  in  poor  health 
and  on  that  account  very  plain -looking.  Notwithstand- 
ing this,  she  occupied  a  proud  place  among  the  monarchs 
of  Europe,  and  her  cousin,  Charles  V.  of  Germany  (son 
of  her  mother's  sister  Joanna)  sent  at  once  to  propose  a 
marriage  between  her  and  his  son  Philip,  who  was  eleven 
years  younger  than  herself.  The  House  of  Commons 
expressed  in  the  strongest  terms  their  disapprobation  of 
such  a  marriage,  upon  which  Mary,  who  was  determined 
that  it  should  take  place,  dissolved  the  Parliament.  The 
new  laws  reestablishing  the  Roman  Catholic  religion 
were  now  openly  enforced;  the  mass  was  celebrated 


LADY  JANE    GREY.      BLOODY  MARY.          219 

•everywhere  and  a  convocation  of  the  clergy  declared  the 
marriage  of  priests  unlawful.  All  the  married  clergy  were 
turned  out  from  their  livings.  These  things  alarmed  the 
non- Catholic  element  of  the  people,  who  anticipated 
measures  still  more  distasteful  when  there  should  be  a 
foreign  prince  fastened  upon  them.  A  rebellion  was 
.accordingly  raised  against  Mary  by  Sir  Thomas  Wyatt 
the  younger,  son  of  the  poet.  Wyatt  was  taken  prisoner 
and  executed,  with  about  thirty  of  his  followers;  and  the 
rebellion  proved  fatal  to  the  innocent  Lady  Jane,  and 
her  boy -husband.  She  declined  to  see  Lord  Guilford 
before  their  execution,  for  fear  it  should  unnerve  them 
both.  She  saw  him  walk  to  the  scaffold,  and  then  saw 
his  body  taken  out  of  a  cart,  with  the  head  wrapped  in  a 
cloth,  but  shed  no  tear.  The  old  narrative  concludes  in 
these  words:  "She  tied  the  kerchief  about  her  eyes;  then 
feeling  for  the  block,  said,  'What  shall  I  do?  Where  is 
it?'  One  of  the  standers-by  guiding  her  thereto,  she  laid 
her  head  down  upon  the  block,  and  stretched  forth  her 
body,  and  said,  'Lord,  into  thy  hands  I  commend  my 
spirit.'  And  so  she  ended." 

The  Princess  Elizabeth  was  arrested  at  the  same  time, 
but  after  being  shut  up  in  the  Tower  for  a  month  was  re- 
leased and  sent  to  Woodstock,  where  she  long  remained 
a  prisoner.  Hollinshed,  one  of  the  chroniclers  of  the 
time,  relates  how  when  once  upon  a  time  she  heard  a 
milkmaid  in  her  garden  singing  pleasantly,  she  wished 
she  too  were  a  milkmaid,  as  she  would  then  lead  a  merrier 
and  happier  life  than  her  present  one.  But  she  never  for 
a  moment  forgot  her  royal  blood,  or  condescended  to 
ask  for  mercy.  None  of  Henry  VIII.'s  children  lacked 
spirit  or  courage. 


220  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

It  was  while  Elizabeth  was  still  at  Woodstock  that 
Philip  of  Spain  came  to  England,  with  many  chests  of 
Spanish  silver,  and  was  married  amid  great  rejoicings. 
The  Londoners  new-gilded  the  great  cross  in  Cheapside, 
and  pulled  down  every  gallows  in  the  city  on  which  still 
hung  the  decaying  bodies  of  "Wyatt's  rebels."  After  the 
marriage,  a  trivial  incident  showed  how  strong  was  the 
party  spirit  that  separated  Romanists  from  Protestants. 
A  certain  conduit  in  Gracechurch  Street  under  which  the 
royal  party  was  to  pass,  was  decorated  with  a  portrait  of 
Henry  VIII.  holding  a  Bible  in  his  hand  on  which  was 
written  "Verbum  Dei"  (the  Word  of  God).  Gardiner, 
Bishop  of  Winchester,  sent  for  the  painter,  "and  with  vile 
words  calling  him  traitor,  asked  why,  and  who  bade  him 
describe  King  Henry  with  a  book  in  his  hand,  as  afore- 
said. The  painter  humbly  apologized,  and  said  he 
thought  he  had  done  well.  'Nay,'  said  the  bishop,  'it 
is  against  the  queen's  Catholic  proceedings.'  And  so  he 
painted  him  shortly  after,  in  the  stead  of  the  book  of 
Verbum  Dei,  to  have  in  his  hands  a  new  pair  of  gloves." 

It  was  not  long  before  other  straws  showed  which  way 
the  wind  was  blowing.  A  Parliament  was  got  together 
in  the  queen's  interest,  in  which  an  address  to  the  pope 
was  voted,  declaring  their  sorrow  for  all  past  proceed- 
ings against  him;  and  the  legate,  Cardinal  Pole,  gave  the 
kingdom  absolution,  and  received  it  again  into  the  bosom 
of  the  Catholic  Church.  On  one  point  the  Parliament 
was  perfectly  firm.  It  would  not  take  away  the  Abbey 
lands  and  goods  which  had  been  granted  by  Henry  VIII. 
to  individuals.  This  is  not  to  be  wondered  at,  as  many 
of  their  own  number  were  now  in  possession  of  this  very 
property. 


LADY  JANE   GREY.       BLOODY  MARY.         221 

There  was  nothing  about  Philip  to  attract  the  English. 
He  was  so  haughty  and  reserved  that  he  took  no  notice 
of  the  salutations  of  even  the  highest  nobility,  and  so 
hemmed  in  by  formal  rules  of  etiquette  that  it  was  impos- 
sible to  approach  him.  He  was  the  most  unpopular  man 
in  England. 

A  reign  of  horror  was  now  to  open  in  that  country 
which  has  affixed  forever  the  epithet  of  "Bloody"  to  the 
name  of  Henry  VIII. 's  oldest  daughter.  By  the  renewal 
of  the  laws  against  heresy,  every  Protestant  in  England 
was  made  liable  to  be  burnt  at  the  stake,  .and  the  prisons 
were  soon  filled  to  overflowing.  The  first  victim  was 
John  Rogers,  a  clergyman,  whose  wife  and  ten  young 
children  were  present  at  the  stake  to  witness  his  suffer- 
ings. He  was  burnt  at  Smithfield,  a  place  then  in  the 
suburbs  of  London,  but  now  in  the  heart  of  the  city, 
where  a  "Martyrs'  Memorial"  has  been  erected,  which 
keeps  alive  the  memory  of  their  constancy  and  their  fate. 
Hooper,  Bishop  of  Gloucester,  was  taken  to  his  own 
cathedral  city  to  end  his  life.  The  flames  consumed  him 
very  slowly;  but  while  lingering  in  frightful  agony,  he  re- 
mained calm  and  quiet;  and  died,  we  are  told,  "like  a 
child  in  its  bed." 

Another  of  the  early  martyrs,  Rowland  Taylor,  rector 
of  Hadleigh,  could  not  put  aside  his  spirit  of  humor  even 
at  the  last  dreadful  moment.  While  going  to  the  stake 
he  remarked,  "the  worms  in  Hadleigh  church-yard  will 
be  deceived,  for  the  carcass  that  should  have  been  theirs 
will  be  burnt  to  ashes."  At  the  stake,  a  brutal  man  threw 
a  fagot  at  him,  which  wounded  him  so  that  the  blood  ran 
down  his  face.  "Oh,  friend,"  said  he,  "I  had  harm  enough; 
what  needed  that?"  and  he  died  calmly,  like  the  others. 


222  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

Gardiner  and  Bonner,  the  queen's  principal  agents  in 
this  deadly  work,  were  constantly  urged  on  by  Mary  and 
her  council  to  more  zealous  efforts.  Among  the  individ- 
ual cases  which  stand  out  from  the  crowd  of  less  distin- 
guished but  equally  heroic  martyrs,  are  the  two  bishops, 
Ridley  and  Latimer,  who  suffered  death  together,  chained 
to  the  same  stake.  Ridley  was  a  man  in  the  prime  of 
life;  Latimer  was  more  than  eighty  years  old.  He  said 
to  his  brother  martyr  as  they  stood  waiting  for  the  fire  to 
be  lighted,  "Be  of  good  comfort,  master  Ridley,  and  play 
the  man !  We  shall  this  day  light  such  a  candle,  by  God's 
grace,  in  England,  as  shall  never  be  put  out." 

The  most  illustrious  of  the  victims,  Archbishop  Cran- 
mer,  remained  to  be  dealt  with.  The  queen  had  a  per- 
sonal reason  for  disliking  him,  even  if  he  had  not  been 
a  heretic,  for  he  had  pronounced  the  divorce  between 
her  father  and  mother;  but  in  addition  to  this,  he  had 
imprudently  uttered  violent  tirades  against  the  Romish 
Church  in  the  beginning  of  Mary's  reign,  and  his  con- 
demnation was  a  foregone  conclusion.  He  was  not  nat- 
urally a  man  of  strong  character,  and  long  imprisonment 
and  harsh  treatment  had  enfeebled  him  still  further.  He 
recanted,  on  the  promise  that  his  life  should  be  spared. 
When  he  found,  however,  that  this  was  only  a  trick  ta 
increase  his  disgrace,  and  that  he  was  first  to  make  a 
public  address  in  support  of  the  Romish  doctrines  and 
then  to  be  led  at  once  to  the  stake,  his  courage  revived, 
and  he  astonished  his  audience  by  a  full  and  emphatic 
declaration  of  his  Protestant  belief.  He  wavered  na 
more,  but  went  cheerfully  to  his  death,  and  when  the  fire 
was  kindled,  thrust  into  the  flames  his  right  hand  (with 
which  he  had  signed  the  recantation)  and  held  it  there  for 


LADY  JANE   GREY.       BLOODY  MARY.          22$ 

some  time,  saying,  "This  hand  has  offended."  Such  ex- 
ecutions had  an  effect  contrary  to  the  one  anticipated, 
and,  as  has  been  said,  "Each  martyrdom  was  equal  to  a 
hundred  sermons."  It  is  computed  that  two  hundred 
and  seventy -seven  persons,  including  four  children,  suf- 
fered death  by  fire  during  the  last  three  years  of  Bloody 
Mary's  reign. 

Queen  Mary  was  always  devotedly  fond  of  her  hus- 
band, though  he  treated  her  with  neglect  and  indifference. 
For  him  she  declared  war  against  France,  a  country  with 
which  England  was  at  peace,  and  sent  several  thousand 
soldiers  there  to  help  him.  A  great  battle  was  fought  at 
St.  Quentin,  where  the  Spaniards  were  victorious;  but 
the  English  soldiers  were  sharp  enough  to  see  that  they 
were  not  fighting  the  battles  of  England,  and  they  grum- 
bled and  growled  so  much  that  Philip  was  glad  to  get  rid 
of  them  and  send  them  home  again  (1557).  The  next 
year  the  Duke  of  Guise,  uncle  01  Mary  Queen  of  Scots, 
and  the  finest  soldier  in  France,  longing  to  revenge  the 
disgrace  of  St.  Quentin  (from  which  cattle  he  had  been 
absent),  determined  to  retake  the  town  of  Calais.*  This 
fortress  was  supposed  to  be  impregnable,  but  it  was  poorly 
guarded,  for  the  English  were  lukewarm  in  carrying  on 
the  unacceptable  war,  and  did  not  supply  the  governor 
with  the  soldiers  needed.  The  Duke  of  Guise,  too,  was 
a  general  who  knew  how  to  take  advantage  of  the  weak 
points  of  his  enemy;  and  in  eight  days  the  fortress  which 
it  had  taken  Edward  III.  eleven  months  of  hard  work  to 
acquire,  was  retaken  and  became  again  a  possession  of 

»  For  a  further  account  of  this  war,  see  "A  Short  History  or 
France,"  p.  178. 


224  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

France  (1558)  after  having  belonged  to  England  for  two 
hundred  and  eleven  years. 

The  people  of  England  were  so  indignant  at  the  folly 
of  the  queen  in  entering  into  this  causeless  war  that 
they  almost  forgot  to  be  mortified  at  the  disaster  to  their 
arms,  and  when  Philip  offered  his  help  to  get  Calais  back 
again,  Parliament  said  they  were  too  poor  to  spend  any 
more  money  on  it.  But  to  Queen  Mary,  already  broken 
in  health,  it  was  like  a  death-blow.  "When  1  die,"  she 
exclaimed,  "the  word  'Calais'  will  be  found  written  on 
my  heart." 

She  did  not  live  long  after  this  shock.  Mortification 
at  the  neglect  of  her  husband,  who  never  came  near  her 
again  after  having  drawn  her  into  the  French  war,  aggra- 
vated the  fever  she  was  suffering  from ;  and  she  died  at 
forty-two  years  of  age,  after  a  snort  and  dreadful  feign  of 
less  than  five  years  (1558).  Cardinal  Pole  (who  had  been 
made  Archbishop  ot  Canterbury  in  Cranmer's  place)  died 
twenty -four  hours  afterward. 

Queen  Mary's  reign  did  good  in  a  certain  way,  namely, 
by  showing  the  outrages  which  such  principles  as  hers 
lead  to,  and  by  preventing  Englishmen  from  ever  again 
bowing  under  a  yoke  so  degrading. 

One  gleam  of  commercial  interest  lights  up  the  dark 
monotony  of  this  reign.  Some  English  navigators,  in 
sailing  along  the  northern  coast  of  Europe,  discovered  a 
passage  to  Archangel,  on  the  White  Sea,  which  led  to  the 
Czar  of  Muscovy's*  sending  ambassadors  to  ask  the 
friendship  of  England.  This  is  the  first  appearance  of 
the  Russian  nation  in  the  courts  of  Western  Europe. 

*  Muscovy  is  the  old  name  for  Russia. 


ELIZABETH.      MARY  QUEEN  OF  SCOTS.       225 
CHAPTER   XXVIII. 

ELIZABETH.       MARY   QUEEN   OF   SCOTS. 

JITH  a  sudden  turn,  England  whirled  around  to 
Protestantism  on  the  death  of  Mary.  The 
great  fabric  of  Popery,  which  Mary  had  so 
labored  to  build  up,  vanished  almost  in  a  moment  when 
her  vigorous,  energetic,  popular  sister  took  her  place  on 
the  throne.  As  the  Spanish  ambassador,  Feria,  whimsi- 
cally said  in  a  letter  to  Philip:  "There  is  not  a  heretic 
or  traitor  in  all  the  country  who  has  not  started  as  if  from 
the  grave  to  seek  her  with  expressions  of  the  greatest 
pleasure."  These  remarks  did  not  at  all  hinder  Philip 
from  writing  to  ask  his  sister-in-law  to  marry  him,  offer- 
ing at  the  same  time  to  obtain  a  dispensation  from  the 
pope  for  that  purpose;  but  she  put  him  off  civilly,  being 
too  quick-witted  not  to  see  that  such  a  marriage  would 
be  a  repetition  of  her  father's  with  Katherine  of  Aragon, 
an  example  she  had  no  wish  to  follow. 

Elizabeth  had  been  brought  up  from  her  very  baby- 
hood in  adversity.  This  fact,  with  her  natural  discretion, 
helped  her  to  say  and  do,  at  least  in  the  early  part  of  her 
career,  always  the  right  thing  at  the  right  moment.  Pop- 
ularity came  to  her  without  an  effort.  On  arriving  in 
London  from  her  country  house  at  Hatfield,  where  she 
was  living  when  she  received  the  news  of  her  sister's 
death,  she  was  welcomed  with  uproarious  joy.  She  was 
now  twenty -five  years  old,  tall,  well  made,  and  of  a  pleas- 
ing countenance. 

Not  one  of  the  bishops,  who  were  all,  of  course,  Rom- 
15 


226  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

anists,  was  willing  to  perform  the  ceremony  of  corona- 
tion. At  last  the  Bishop  of  Carlisle  was  prevailed  upon 
to  set  the  crown  upon  her  head.  She  did  not  make 
enemies  by  taking  immediate  action  on  this  refusal;  but 
they  were  soon  afterward  required,  by  act  of  Parliament, 
to  take  the  "Oath  of  Supremacy,"  and  those  who  did  not 
meet  this  test  were  deposed  and  their  places  gradually 
filled  by  Protestants.  It  is  estimated  that  nearly  ten 
thousand  of  the  inferior  clergy  took  the  oath  acknowledg- 
ing the  queen  to  be  head  of  the  Church. 

On  the  morning  after  the  coronation,  as  Elizabeth  was 
going  to  chapel,  one  of  the  courtiers  addressed  her  in  a 
loud  voice,  reminding  her  that  it  was  the  custom  for  a 
new  sovereign  to  release  some  prisoners,  and  saying  that 
there  were  four  or  five  for  whom  he  begged  this  favor, 
namely,  the  four  Evangelists,  Matthew,  Mark,  Luke,  and 
John,  and  also  St.  Paul,  who  had  so  long  been  shut  up 
in  a  foreign  tongue  that  they  were  unable  to  converse 
with  the  people.  Elizabeth  gravely  answered  that  it  were 
best  to  inquire  of  them  whether  they  wished  to  be  re- 
leased or  not.  The  matter  was  referred  to  a  convocation 
of  the  clergy,  by  whose  authority  a  new  translation  of  the 
Scriptures  was  ordered.  Matthew  Parker,  the  new  Arch- 
bishop of  Canterbury,  a  truly  good  and  learned  man,  was 
entrusted  with  carrying  this  out,  and  caused  a  version  to 
be  prepared  called  "The  Bishops'  Bible,"  which  appeared 
in  1568,  and  was  the  authorized  one  until  superseded  by 
that  now  in  use  by  us.  The  queen  at  the  same  time  com- 
manded that  the  church  service  should  again  be  read  in 
the  common  tongue;  and  this  liturgy,  being  in  the  main 
the  same  with  the  second  one  of  Edward  VI.  (1552)  is 
the  one  still  used  in  England,  and,  with  slight  change,  in 


ELIZABETH.      MARY  QUEEN  OF  SCOTS.       227 

America.  At  the  same  time  with  the  law  regarding  the 
queen's  supremacy,  was  passed  another  called  the  Act  of 
Uniformity,  which  required  the  liturgy  of  the  English 
prayer-book  to  be  used  in  religious  worship,  and  forbade 
all  ministers  to  adopt  any  other  form.  These  two  acts, 
of  Supremacy  and  Uniformity,  settled  the  question  of  a 
national  religion.  For  the  queen's  assistance  in  carrying 
out  these  measures,  she  was  empowered  by  Parliament 
to  name  such  commissioners,  either  laymen  or  clergy- 
men; and  out  of  this  grew  the  famous  Court  of  High 
Commission,  of  which  we  shall  hear  again. 

Queen  Elizabeth  showed  especial  good  judgment  in 
the  choice  of  her  ministers.  William  Cecil,  afterward 
Lord  Burleigh,  was  made  secretary  of  state,  and  contin- 
ued for  the  forty  years  from  the  beginning  of  Elizabeth's 
reign  to  his  death  in  1598,  to  be  her  prime  minister.  Sir 
Nicholas  Bacon,  father  of  the  still  greater  Francis  Bacon, 
was  appointed  lord  keeper  of  the  great  seal. 

The  spirit  of  the  whole  reign  was  shown  in  the  first 
speech  of  Bacon  to  Parliament.  He  said  he  trusted  that 
"contumelious  and  opprobrious  words  such  as  heretic, 
schismatic,  papist,  would  be  banished  out  of  men's 
mouths."  Every  thing  that  was  done  about  religion  was 
distinguished  by  moderation,  and  the  great  change  was 
effected  quietly.  The  first  Parliament  held  after  the 
coronation  begged  the  queen  to  choose  a  husband  for 
herself  (which  would  have  been  no  difficult  matter,  as 
nearly  every  royal  bachelor  or  widower  in  Europe  wished 
to  marry  her),  but  she  answered  very  firmly  that  the 
height  of  her  ambition  was  to  have  inscribed  on  her 
tombstone  that  a  queen,  having  lived  and  reigned  so 
many  years,  died  a  virgin. 


228  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

Her  royal  cousin,  Mary,  Queen  of  Scots,  now  became 
for  a  short  time  queen  of  France  by  the  death  of  her 
father-in-law,  Henry  II.  She  and  her  young  husband, 
Francis  II.,  foolishly  took  the  title  of  king  and  queen  of 
England,  and  Elizabeth,  very  indignant,  sent  an  army  to 
Scotland  to  help  the  party  organized  there  against  Mary 
and  her  French  advisers.  Scotland  was  a  strongly  Pro- 
testant country,  and  the  people  were  determined  that 
Romanism  should  not  get  the  upper  hand  there  as  it  had 
done  in  England  under  Mary.  John  Knox,  the  famous 
Puritan  preacher,  used  the  whole  force  of  his  eloquence 
against  the  popish  party,  and  the  Roman  religion  was 
abolished  in  Scotland,  except  that  it  was  permitted  to 
the  queen  herself  to  hear  mass  with  her  household.  It 
was  also  agreed  that  she  should  no  longer  use  the  title 
of  queen  of  England.  Just  at  this  time  her  husband 
died,  and  she  was  obliged,  most  unwillingly,  to  return  to 
her  native  land.  On  leaving  France,  she  had  her 
couch  spread  on  the  deck  of  the  vessel,  so  that  with  the 
last  ray  of  light  she  could  still  see  that  beloved  country, 
and  in  touching  language  she  bade  it  farewell.  She  was 
received  in  Scotland  with  such  enthusiasm  as  would 
naturally  be  shown  to  a  beautiful  young  widow  of  nine- 
teen, with  gracious  and  winning  manners;  but  nothing 
could  make  her  countrymen  forget  that  she  was  a  papist. 

The  first  dozen  years  of  Elizabeth's  reign  were  passed 
in  profound  peace,  except  for  the  slight  disturbance  with 
Scotland.  With  the  help  of  her  able  ministers  she  paid 
off  a  large  part  of  the  public  debt;  restored  to  its  full 
value  the  coin,  which  had  been  greatly  debased  during 
Edward  VI. 's  time ;  introduced  the  manufacture  of  gun- 
powder and  brass  cannon,  and  built  so  many  ships  that 


ELIZABETH.      MARY  QUEEN  OF  SCOTS.       229 

she  was  called  "the  queen  of  the  northern  seas."  She 
promoted  trade  and  manufactures,  and  was  to  some 
extent  a  patron  of  literary  men,  though  she  was  very 
careful  of  money  and  always  managed  to  make  other 
people  spend  it  when  possible. 

Queen  Elizabeth  had  some  very  mean  qualities  as  well 
as  many  great  ones.  She  was  extremely  vain,  and  loved 
flattery  so  much  that  no  one  could  gain  her  favor  with- 
out using  adulation  to  an  extent  which  now  seems  dis- 
graceful. 

"Till  [her]  relish  grown  callous,  almost  to  disease, 
Who  peppered  the  highest  was  surest  to  please. " 

The  queen's  greatest  favorite,  Robert  Dudley,  earl  of 
Leicester,  came  of  a  family  distinguished  for  its  bad 
qualities.  He  was  the  son  of  that  Duke  of  Northum- 
berland who  had  ruined  the  life  of  Lady  Jane  Grey,  and 
grandson  of  the  unjust  judge  of  Henry  VII.  He  was 
base  enough  to  do  anything  to  keep  the  queen's  favor, 
and  there  was  even  a  report  that  he  had  killed  his  wife, 
Amy  Robsart,*  in  the  hope  of  marrying  Elizabeth.  But 
nothing  could  be  proved  against  him,  and,  mean-souled 
as  he  was,  he  continued  to  be  her  favorite  till  the  day  of 
his  death. 

The  Queen  of  Scots  married  her  cousin,  Lord  Darnley, 
a  handsome  but  weak  and  low-minded  youth,  some  years 
younger  than  herself,  whom  she  soon  grew  tired  of  and 
treated  with  contempt.  "Unless  she  was  freed  of  him," 
she  said,  "she  had  no  desire  to  live."  There  was  in  her 
court  an  Italian  musician  named  David  Rizziot  whom 

*See  Sir  Walter  Scott's  novel  of  "Kenilworth." 
t Pronounced  Ritzio. 


230  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

Mary  had  made  her  private  secretary,  and  with  whom 
she  was  on  terms  of  intimacy  that  displeased  her  hus- 
band. Darnley  formed  a  conspiracy  with  some  Scottish 
lords  to  murder  the  favorite.  They  entered  the  queen's 
room  as  she  was  at  supper  with  him  and  others  of  her 
attendants,  and  stabbed  Rizzio  to  death  in  her  presence. 
The  stain  of  his  blood  may  yet  be  seen  on  the  floor 
of  Holyrood  palace.  Not  long  after  this,  Mary  gave 
birth  to  a  son  who  received  the  name  of  James.  He 
became  the  sixth  Stuart  king  in  succession  bearing  that 
name,  and  we  shall  meet  him  in  English  history  as 
James  the  First  of  England  and  Sixth  of  Scotland. 

Mary  was  furiously  angry  against  all  who  had  taken 
part  in  the  murder  of  Rizzio,  and  loaded  her  husband 
with  insults  or  treated  him  with  haughty  neglect.  Darn- 
ley  not  long  afterward  was  found  murdered,  and  sus- 
picion fell  upon  the  Earl  of  Bothwell,  a  worthless  and 
dissipated  person  who  was  in  high  favor  with  the  queen; 
and,  as  she  married  him  soon  after  Darnley's  death,  it 
is  natural  to  think  that  she  did  not  disapprove  of  the 
crime.  She  was  forced  to  dismiss  Bothwell,  who  became 
an  outcast,  and  died,  insane,  ten  years  afterward. 

Mary  was  now  virtually  a  prisoner.  After  the  battle 
of  Carberry  Hill,  which  she  lost,  she  was  conducted  back 
to  Edinburgh  between  two  of  the  confederate  lords, 
while  the  air  rang  with  the  curses  of  the  infuriated  rab- 
ble, who  looked  upon  her  as  the  murderess  of  her  hus- 
band. A  banner  was  carried  before  her  on  which  was 
painted  the  body  of  Darnley  lying  under  a  tree  with  a 
child  kneeling  beside  it,  and  the  motto,  "Judge  and 
avenge  my  cause,  oh  Lord ! "  When  she  awoke  the  next 
morning,  the  same  banner  was  hung  up  in  front  of  her 


ELIZABETH.      MARY  QUEEN  OF  SCOTS.       231 

window.  The  same  day,  she  was  taken  to  the  castle  of 
Lochleven,  situated  on  a  small  island  in  the  lake  of  that 
name,  where  she  was  obliged  to  sign  an  agreement  to 
resign  the  crown  to  her  son  and  to  appoint  the  Earl  of 
Murray,  her  half-brother,  regent  of  the  kingdom  during 
James's  minority.  The  young  prince  was  crowned  by 
the  name  of  James  VI.  and  the  Parliament,  voting  that 
the  queen  was  an  accomplice  in  Darnley's  murder,  con- 
demned her  to  imprisonment.  She  effected  her  escape 
from  Lochleven  Castle  in  a  very  romantic  manner,* 
and,  raising  an  army,  fought  one  commanded  by 
the  regent,  near  Glasgow,  where  she  was  completely 
defeated.  Flying  southward  with  all  possible  haste, 
she  got  on  board  a  fishing-boat  which  landed  her  on  the 
same  day  in  England,  and  from  Carlisle  she  sent  a  mes- 
sage to  Elizabeth  asking  for  her  friendship  and  protec- 
tion. The  English  queen  replied  that  she  must  first 
have  proof  that  her  cousin  was  innocent  of  the  crimes 
charged  against  her.  With  Mary's  consent,  a  sort  of  trial 
was  held  in  London,  at  which  both  her  friends  and  ene- 
mies offered  testimony  in  the  case;  but  it  came  to 
nothing,  and  she  remained  for  nineteen  years  a  prisoner 
in  the  hands  of  Elizabeth. 

All  through  the  last  half  of  the  sixteenth  century,  the 
question  of  religion,  in  some  form,  was  the  cause  of  ex- 
citement and  turmoil.  From  the  time  that  the  Roman 
Church  ceased  to  be  catholic — that  is,  universal, — the 
struggle  between  its  doctrines  and  other  forms  of  belief 
was  incessant;  and  as  people  had  not  then  learned  the 
great  lesson  of  toleration  as  it  is  called,  in  other  words 

*For  a  truthful  description  of  this  escape  see  Sir  Walter  Scott's 
novel  of  "The  Abbot,"  Chapter  XXXV. 


232  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

of  allowing  each  one  to  keep  his  own  belief  unless  he 
can  be  persuaded  to  accept  a  better  one,  the  result  was 
strife  and  bloodshed  instead  of  peace  and  good-will.  In 
France  a  deadly  civil  war  was  going  on  between  the 
Catholics  and  the  Huguenots  (French  Protestants);  in 
the  Netherlands,  Philip  II.  of  Spain,  formerly  the  hus- 
band of  Elizabeth's  sister  Mary,  was  persecuting  his 
Protestant  subjects  by  burning,  torturing,  beheading,  and 
burying  alive  those  who  would  not  conform  to  his  own 
religion;  and  in  England  two  parties  had  arisen  among 
the  Protestants  themselves  whose  feelings  against  each 
other  were  as  bitter,  though  not  as  bloodily  expressed, 
as  those  of  either  party  against  the  Catholics.  On  one 
side  stood  the  English  Church  established  by  law,  with  a 
ritual  or  form  of  service,  and  on  the  other  the  Puritans, 
those  who  thought  the  Church  not  yet  sufficiently  puri- 
fied from  what  they  called  the  abominations  of  Rome, 
and  who  wished  a  simple  kind  of  worship,  without  set 
forms  or  a  dress  peculiar  to  the  clergy. 

Elizabeth  had  already  sent  some  help  to  the  Hugue- 
nots in  France,  when  the  horrible  "Massacre  of  St 
Bartholemew,"*  occurred,  in  which  many  thousands  of 
them  were  murdered.  This  outrage,  together  with  the  no 
less  frightful  occurences  in  the  Netherlands,  kindled  a 
flame  of  indignation  in  England  which  was  fanned  into 
fury  by  events  in  that  country  which,  to  the  excited  minds 
of  the  people,  threatened  them  with  similar  dangers. 

•  See  "A  Short  History  of  France,"  p.  189. 


THE  NAVIGATORS.      MARY  STUART.          233 
CHAPTER  XXIX. 

PLOTS.       THE  NAVIGATORS.       MARY  STUART. 

| HE  disturbances  caused  by  religous  differences, 
while  agitating  different  countries  in  different 
ways,  made  themselves  most  strongly  felt  in 
England  through  the  plots  formed  by  the  Catholics 
against  Elizabeth's  government.  The  conspirators  were 
encouraged  in  these  by  a  bull  of  excommunication  issued 
against  her  by  Pope  Pius  V.  declaring  her  title  null  and 
void,  and  absolving  her  subjects  from  their  allegiance. 
These  events  bore  fruit  in  a  plan  made  to  marry  the 
English  Duke  of  Norfolk,  a  Romanist,  to  the  Scottish 
Queen  Mary,  seize  and  imprison  Elizabeth,  by  the  help 
of  Spanish  soldiers  who  were  to  land  in  the  country,  and 
proclaim  Mary  queen  of  England.  The  plot  was  dis- 
covered, and  Norfolk  and  others  were  executed. 

The  discovery  of  the  methods  used  by  Mary  and  her 
friends  made  it  necessary  to  watch  the  captive  queen 
very  closely,  though  in  spite  of  the  vigilance  used  it  was 
found  impossible  to  prevent  her  from  having  constant 
correspondence  with  the  outer  world. 

During  all  this  time,  the  wars  of  religion  in  France 
were  growing  fiercer  and  the  persecution  in  the  Nether- 
lands more  horrible.  In  one  way,  these  were  both  of 
benefit  to  England;  they  drove  to  her  shores  a  great 
body  of  well-taught  workmen,  who  were  welcomed  in  the 
manufacturing  districts  and  found  ample  occasion  there 
for  exercising  their  skill.  The  queen  paid  off  with 
interest  the  entire  public  debt,  part  of  which  had  been 


234  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

accumulating  since  her  father's  time;  and  this  was  so 
unusual  a  practice  with  the  crowned  heads  of  Europe 
that  it  gave  the  stamp  of  stability  to  her  government. 

The  people  of  the  Netherlands  were  still  struggling  for 
their  liberty,  and  had  more  than  once  asked  Elizabeth 
to  be  their  queen,  feeling  that  with  her  help  they  could 
get  rid  of  the  atrocities  of  Spanish  rule.  She  declined, 
but  sent  them  some  troops  (1585),  under  the  command 
of  her  favorite,  the  Earl  of  Leicester.  A  person  more 
unfit  for  the  office  of  commander  could  scarcely  have 
been  found.  Leicester  had  neither  military  talent  nor 
experience,  while  Philip's  general,  Alexander  of  Parma, 
was  the  first  captain  of  the  age.  Thrilling  deeds  of 
heroism  were  performed  by  individual  commanders,  and 
the  common  soldiers  fought  bravely;  but  the  queen's 
parsimony  led  her  to  leave  the  army  for  months  at  a 
time  without  pay,  and  then  their  condition  became  so 
scandalous  that  there  was  nothing  the  Dutch  desired  so 
much  as  to  get  rid  of  them. 

The  fate  of  Sir  Philip  Sidney,  "the  mirror  of  knight- 
hood," the  most  accomplished  man  of  the  time,  was 
especially  sad.  He  perished  in  an  unwisely-planned 
attack  on  the  enemy  near  Zutphen,  in  Holland  (1586). 
We  give  a  story  of  his  generosity  in  the  words  of  his 
friend,  Lord  Brooke:  "Passing  along  by  the  rear  of  the 
army  and  being  thirsty  with  excess  of  bleeding,  he  called 
for  some  drink,  which  was  presently  brought  him.  But 
as  he  was  putting  the  bottle  to  his  mouth  he  saw  a  poor 
soldier  carried  along  who  had  eaten  his  last  at  the  same 
feast,  ghastly  casting  up  his  eyes  at  the  bottle;  which 
Sir  Philip  perceiving,  took  it  from  his  head  before  he 
drank,  and  delivered  it  to  the  poor  man  with  these  words: 


THE  NAVIGATORS.      MARY  STUART.          235 

*Thy  necessity  is  yet  greater  than  mine.'"  Such  is  the 
stuff  that  heroes  are  made  of;  a  whole  character  is  told 
in  this  little  tale. 

Meanwhile,  England's  explorers  and  navigators  were 
not  idle.  Francis  Drake  was  the  second  person  to  sail 
-around  the  globe  (1577-1580),  the  Portuguese  under 
Magellan  having  accomplished  the  same  feat  nearly  sixty 
years  before.  Drake,  on  his  way,  took  many  rich  Span- 
ish prizes,  though  there  was  no  open  war  between  Eng- 
land and  Spain  at  the  time.  The  queen,  instead  of  re- 
proaching him  for  this  breach  of  the  law  of  nations, 
knighted  him,  and  allowed  him  to  give  her  a  banquet  at 
Deptford  on  board  the  ship  which  had  made  the  suc- 
•cessful  voyage.  Another  navigator,  John  Davis,  in  try- 
ing to  find  a  northwest  passage  to  the  Pacific,  discovered 
the  strait  which  bears  his  name;  Sir  Martin  Frobisher 
found  another  in  the  same  part  of  the  world  which  is 
also  called  after  him;  and  Sir  John  Hawkins,  one  of  the 
boldest  of  those  adventurers,  has  the  unenviable  repu- 
tation of  having  been  the  first  Englishman  to  engage  in 
the  African  slave-trade.  All  these  were  mere  sailors, 
brought  into  notice  by  their  enterprise,  perseverance,  and 
courage.  There  were  others,  however,  of  a  higher  social 
rank,  who  did  their  share  in  exploring  new  countries  and 
unknown  seas.  Among  these  were  Sir  Walter  Raleigh 
and  his  half-brother,  Sir  Humphrey  Gilbert.  The  latter, 
before  setting  out  on  his  last  voyage,  received  from  the 
•queen  a  gift  of  a  small  gold  anchor  guided  by  a  lady,  as 
a  token  of  her  esteem.  After  many  adventures,  and  the 
loss  of  the  largest  ship  of  his  little  fleet,  he  started  to 
return  to  England;  but  during  the  voyage  a  storm  arose 
and  separated  his  vessel,  the  Squirrel,  from  her  consort. 


236  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

Before  they  parted  he  called  out  to  those  on  the  other 
ship,  "  We  are  as  near  Heaven  by  sea  as  by  land ! "  The 
Squirrel  was  never  seen  again. 

Sir  Walter  Raleigh's  is  one  of  the  most  brilliant  figures 
in  the  Elizabethan  gallery.  He  seems  to  have  been  a 
born  courtier,  as  well  as  an  adventurer,  for  there  is  a 
story  that  on  his  first  meeting  with  the  queen  he  threw 
down  his  rich  cloak  in  a  muddy  path  that  she  might  not 
wet  her  feet.  If  he  did  not  do  this  he  might  have  done 
it,  and  probably  would  have  done  it  if  the  opportunity 
had  occurred.  At  any  rate,  he  stood  high  in  the  queen's 
favor,  and  he  had  the  privilege  of  naming  the  new  land, 
which  he  called  Virginia,  in  honor  of  the  Virgin  Queen.* 
He  sent  out  a  colony  which  settled  on  Roanoke  Island, 
near  North  Carolina  (1585),  but  it  did  not  thrive,  and 
the  next  year,  when  Sir  Francis  Drake  came  along,  the 
colonists  were  glad  to  return  with  him  to  England. 
Raleigh  was  not  yet  discouraged  by  his  ill -success.  The 
following  year  he  sent  another  colony  to  the  same  place, 
providing  it  with  all  things  necessary  ;  but  at  the  end  of 
three  years  it  had  entirely  disappeared,  and  he  had 
already  spent  so  much  money  on  it  that  he  was  obliged 
to  give  up  any  further  attempts  at  colonization. 

We  have  now  arrived  at  what  Motley  calls  the  tragedy 
of  Mary  Stuart:  "A  sad  but  inevitable  portion  of  the 
vast  drama  in  which  the  emancipation  of  England  and 
Holland,  and  through  them  of  half  Christendom, 
approached  its  catastrophe."  Mary's  whole  life  in  Eng- 
land had  been  a  torment  to  Elizabeth.  Her  partisans 
were  constantly  intriguing  with  the  agents  of  foreign 

*This  name  was  originally  given  to  the  whole  Atlantic  coast, 
from  Maine  to  the  Spanish  settlements  in  Florida. 


THE  NAVIGATORS.      MARY  STUART.          237 

countries  to  try  in  some  way  to  compass  Elizabeth's 
death,  and  the  assassination  of  the  patriot  and  states- 
man, William  of  Orange  (1584),  encouraged  hopes  of 
success  in  such  attempts.  In  1586,  some  Roman  Cath- 
olic priests  in  the  seminary  at  Rheims,  in  France,  had 
worked  themselves  up  to  a  pitch  of  frantic  fanaticism, 
and  thought  it  would  be  a  noble  deed  to  destroy  Eliza- 
beth, restore  the  Catholic  religion,  and  place  the  Queen 
of  Scots  on  the  throne.  They  found  a  ready  accomplice 
in  England  in  Sir  Anthony  Babington,  a  young  man  oi 
family  and  fortune,  who  entered  eagerly  into  their  plans 
and  drew  into  the  conspiracy  many  Romanists  of  posi- 
tion and  wealth. 

It  happened,  however,  that  these  plots  were  not  kept 
so  secret  but  that  they  came  to  the  knowledge  of  Sir 
Francis  Walsingham,  one  of  the  queen's  secretaries  of 
state;  who  by  means  of  his  spies  knew  every  step  as 
soon  as  it  was  taken.  He  allowed  the  conspiracy  to  go 
on  until  all  the  evidence  was  collected  necessary  to  con- 
vict the  actors  in  it.  A  traitor  in  the  castle  where  Mary 
was  confined  received  and  passed  on  to  her  the  letters 
addressed  to  her  (which  were  sometimes  concealed  in  a 
box  conveyed  in  a  barrel  of  beer),  and  she  answered 
them,  never  dreaming  that  they  were  leading  her  to  her 
own  destruction.  At  last,  when  the  plot  was  fully  ripe, 
the  conspirators  were  seized,  tried,  and  condemned,  the 
evidence  against  them  being  so  complete  that  no  defence 
could  be  made. 

Elizabeth  hesitated  long  before  taking  the  final  step 
with  regard  to  Mary.  Not  only  the  Parliament,  but  all 
Protestant  England,  clamored  for  the  death  of  the  Scot- 
tish queen,  and  Elizabeth,  yielding  at  last,  ordered  her 


238  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

to  be  tried  at  Fotheringay  Castle  (to  which  place  she 
had  been  removed  after  the  discovery  of  Babington's 
conspiracy),  by  a  court  held  there  for  the  purpose. 
Before  this  court,  which  was  composed  of  both  Cath- 
olics and  Protestants,  she  denied  everything;  declared 
that  the  letters  to  Babington  in  her  own  handwriting  had 
been  forged;  denied  that  she  had  ever  received  any  from 
him,  and  defended  herself  with  great  spirit  and  ingenu- 
ity, but  without  avail.  "The  daughter  of  debate"  was 
condemned,  and  adjudged  worthy  of  death. 

Parliament  ratified  the  finding  of  the  court,  and  the 
people  in  general  were  so  wildly  happy  over  the  verdict 
that  they  rang  the  bells  and  lighted  bonfires,  and  went 
about  London  streets  shouting  for  joy.  Elizabeth,  how- 
ever, though  she  may  in  her  secret  soul  have  desired 
Mary's  death,  was  painfully  perplexed.  She  hesitated 
long  before  signing  the  death-warrant,  and  after  this  had 
been  done  and  the  fatal  paper  sent  on  its  way,  she  tried 
to  lay  the  blame  on  her  ministers,  especially  on  her 
unfortunate  secretary,  Davison,  who  was  thrown  into 
prison  and  heavily  fined  for  doing  his  plain  duty  in  the 
matter.  If  Elizabeth  had  boldly  taken  upon  herself  the 
responsibility  of  her  own  actions,  defending  the  death  of 
Mary  as  a  necessity  of  state,  she  might  have  been  blamed 
but  she  would  not  have  been  despised.  As  it  is,  there 
is  something  contemptible  in  her  being  willing  to  share 
the  profit  but  not  the  odium  of  the  transaction.  "Will- 
ing to  wound  and  yet  afraid  to  strike." 

Four  months  passed  between  the  condemnation  and 
the  execution  of  Mary  Stuart  (October,  1586 — February, 
1587),  and  in  this  time  the  kings  of  France  and  Scotland 
interceded  for  her  in  vain.  Her  son,  James  VI.,  blus- 


THE  NAVIGATORS.      MARY  STUART.          239 


tered  a  good  deal,  but  was  easily  pacified.  He  was 
twenty-one  years  old  and  might  have  shown  some  spirit; 
but  he  was  of  a  timorous  disposition  and  did  not  choose 
to  quarrel  with  his  powerful  neighbor.  The  remonstrances 
from  France  passed  over  Elizabeth  as  the  idle  wind. 

Mary  Stuart,  like  many  persons  who  have  done  ill  in 
their  lives,  never  appeared  to  more  advantage  than  in 
her  last  hours.  She  was  beheaded  in  the  great  hall  of 
Fotheringay  Castle,  where  a  scaffold  had  been  erected 
covered  with  black  cloth,  an  executioner  dressed  in 
black  velvet  standing  beside  it.  Sir  Andrew  Melville, 
her  ambassador  to  England  in  the  days  of  her  youth  and 
beauty,  was  with  her  to  the  end.  She  had  wished  to 
have  the  services  of  a  priest,  but  this  was  refused,  and 
instead  the  Dean  of  Peterborough  exhorted  her  to 
become  converted  to  the  Protestant  faith.  She  told  him 
not  to  trouble  himself  about  her,  for  that  as  she  had 
lived  a  Catholic  she  would  die  one;  and  she  began  to 
pray  in  Latin  while  he  was  praying  in  English,  neither 
one  taking  any  notice  of  the  other.  Afterward  she 
prayed  in  English  for  Christ's  afflicted  church,  for  her 
son  and  for  the  Queen  of  England.  The  Earl  of  Kent, 
one  of  the  functionaries  on  this  occasion,  told  her  to 
"leave  those  trumperies."  A  cloth  was  pinned  over  her 
face  by  her  maids;  and  then,  groping  for  the  block,  as 
Lady  Jane  Grey  had  done,  she  laid  down  her  head,  and 
two  strokes  severed  it  from  her  body.  Her  little  dog, 
who  had  stolen  upon  the  scaffold  unperceived,  was  found 
nestling  among  the  folds  of  her  gown,  and  refused  to 
leave  her  dead  body. 

And  this  was  the  end  of  beauty  without  principle,  pas- 
sions without  self-restraint,  and  ability  without  truthful- 


240  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

ness.  If  Mary  Stuart's  intellect  had  been  guided  by  a 
desire  to  do  right,  and  her  beauty  accompanied  by  sin- 
cerity and  tenderness,  there  would  be  a  fragrance  around 
her  name  that  would  be  only  the  sweeter  for  her  misfor- 
tunes. As  it  is,  we  can  pity  her  sorrows,  but  we  must 
condemn  her  crimes. 

Mary  died  in  her  forty -fifth  year,  having  been  nomi- 
nally queen  since  she  was  five  days  old,  and  having 
reigned  after  her  return  from  France  about  seven  years. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

THE  ARMADA.   IRELAND.   DEATH  OF  THE  QUEEN. 

HILIP  II.  of  Spain  had   for  three  years  been 


making  preparations  for  the  conquest  of  Eng- 
land, when  the  "Invincible  Armada,"*  at  last 
fully  equipped  for  sea,  sailed  out  of  the  port  of  Lisbon,  t 
June,  1588.  There  had  been  a  detention  on  account  of 
the  death  of  the  admiral,  who  was  succeeded  by  the  Duke 
of  Medina  Sidonia,  a  brave  soldier,  but  totally  unac- 
quainted with  the  sea.  No  expense  had  been  spared; 
there  were  130  ships,  the  greater  part  of  them  larger 
and  heavier  than  had  ever  been  used  in  European  war- 
fare, carrying  33,000  men  and  3,000  cannon.  The  Ar- 
mada had  been  more  than  a  month  on  the  way,  and  the 
English  thought  it  was  not  coming  at  all;  when  it  was 
seen  from  the  Lizard,  J  one  bright  day  in  July,  crowding 
all  sail  to  enter  the  English  Channel. 

*  Armada,  the  Spanish  term  for  a  large  war  fleet 
t  Portugal  belonged  to  Spain  from  1580  to  1640. 
J  The  most  southern  point  of  England. 


THE  ARMADA.       IRELAND.  241 

While  the  Spanish  fleet  was  in  preparation,  Sir  Francis 
Drake  had  been  hovering  off  the  coast  of  Spain,  and  had 
taken  a  hundred  ships  near  Cadiz,  beside  destroying 
great  quantities  of  provisions  and  ammunition.  In  Eng- 
land, all  the  available  vessels  had  been  made  ready,  partly 
by  the  use  of  public  money  and  partly  by  free  gifts  from 
the  cities  and  seaport  towns.  The  ships  were  very  small 
compared  to  those  of  the  Spaniards,  and  carried  not 
much  more  than  half  as  many  men.  Lord  Howard  of 
Effingham  was  in  command  of  the  English  fleet;  Drake, 
Hawkins,  and  Frobisher  were  among  his  captains,  while 
Raleigh  was  in  charge  of  a  land  force.  A  camp  was 
formed  at  Tilbury,  near  London,  and  the  queen  rode 
among  the  troops  encouraging  and  animating  them.  "I 
know  that  I  have  but  the  body  of  a  weak  and  feeble 
woman,"  said  she,  "but  I  have  the  heart  of  a  king,  and 
of  a  king  of  England!" 

The  Spanish  fleet  advanced  up  the  Channel  in  the  form 
of  a  crescent,  seven  miles  from  tip  to  tip.  Lord  Howard 
had  scarcely  time  to  get  out  of  Plymouth  harbor  before 
it  passed;  and  fearing  that  he  could  not  attack  the  whole 
fleet  to  advantage,  he  contented  himself  with  lying  in 
wait  for  such  vessels  as  should  be  separated  from  the 
rest,  and  in  this  way  captured  two  of  the  largest  galleons, 
one  of  which  was  loaded  with  treasure.  For  several 
nights,  beacon -fires  had  been  lighted  on  various  parts  of 
the  southern  coast,  to  give  notice  to  the  inhabitants  of 
the  Spaniards'  approach.*  By  constantly  annoying  the 

*  "Swift  to  east  and  swift  to  west  the  warning  radiance  spread — 
High  on  St.  Michael's  Mount  it  shone,  it  shone  on  Beachy  Head. 
Far  o'er  the  deep  the  Spaniards  saw,  along  each  southern  shire, 
Cape  beyond  cape,  in  endless  range,  those  twinkling  points  of  fire. " 

— Macaulay,  "  The  Armada. " 
16 


242  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

enemy,  hanging  on  the  rear  of  the  fleet  and  darting  in 
and  out  with  their  light  and  easily-managed  vessels  while 
the  clumsy  Spanish  ones  were  trying  to  get  into  position, 
the  English  did  much  damage  to  the  enemy.*  One  night 
Howard  took  eight  of  his  least  valuable  ships,  and,  filling 
them  with  combustibles,  set  fire  to  them  and  sent  them 
adrift  among  the  Spanish  galleons;  the  latter  were  seized 
with  a  panic,  and  cutting  their  cables  they  fled  in  con- 
fusion; the  English  pursued  them,  and  the  next  morning 
found  them  in  all  haste  speeding  away  from  Calais,  where 
they  had  taken  refuge. 

The  Spanish  admiral  did  not  dare  to  return  with  his 
demoralized  fleet  through  the  Channel.  He  turned  north- 
ward and  made  the  best  of  his  way  through  the  German 
Oceant  to  the  Orkneys,  followed  and  harassed  by  the 
English ;  and  had  not  the  ammunition  of  the  latter  given 
out,  they  might  have  captured  the  whole  Spanish  fleet. 
A  violent  tempest  overtook  the  Armada  after  it  had 
passed  the  Orkneys,  destroying  or  crippling  many  ves- 
sels; and  another  drove  a  part  of  it  on  the  coast  of  Ire- 
land, where  such  men  as  reached  the  shore  were  butch- 
ered by  the  natives.  Less  than  half  the  ships  that  had 
sailed  so  proudly  out  of  Lisbon,  two  months  before,  ever 
again  saw  the  coast  of  Spain.  The  Invincible  Armada 
was  conquered  (1588)4 

The  joy,  the  exultation,  the  heartfelt  gratitude  of  the 
English  may  be  imagined.  Thanksgivings  went  up  from 

*  Lord  Howard  wrote  to  Walsingham,  "Their  force  is  wonder- 
fully great  and  strong,  and  yet  we  pluck  their  feathers  by  little  and 
little." 

tThe  North  Sea. 

4:  See  Kingsley's  novel,  "Westward  Hoi" 


THE   ARMADA.       IRELAND.  243 

every  church  in  the  land,  and  the  love  and  admiration 
for  the  queen  rose  almost  to  idolatry.  On  one  of  the 
medals  struck  to  commemorate  the  great  deliverance 
was  a  good  parody  of  Caesar's  famous  despatch.  The 
English  one  ran:  "Venit,  vidit,  fugit."* 

The  queen's  pleasure  in  this  victory  was  tempered  by 
a  private  grief.  The  Earl  of  Leicester,  perhaps  the  only 
person  for  whom  she  ever  felt  a  real  affection,  died  soon 
after  the  last  Spanish  sail  disappeared  from  English 
waters.  His  place  in  her  favor  was  apparently  taken  by 
his  step-son,  the  Earl  of  Essex,  a  young  man  of  agreeable 
manners  and  many  accomplishments,  and  not  lacking  in 
fine  qualities,  though  reckless  and  ill-balanced.  Upon 
one  occasion,  he  so  far  forgot  himself  as  to  turn  his  back 
upon  her  with  an  insulting  laugh  when  she  refused  to 
comply  with  his  wishes.  Elizabeth  had  her  own  way  of 
treating  such  offences,  and  gave  him  a  box  on  the  ear 
with  her  jewelled  fingers,  telling  him  to  "go,  and  be 
hanged."  After  this  interchange  of  courtesies  Essex  re- 
tired from  court,  and  was  with  difficulty  persuaded  by  his 
friends  to  make  friends  again  with  his  royal  mistress. 

Meantime,  the  war  with  Spain  went  on.  Eight  years 
after  the  failure  of  the  great  Armada,  the  city  of  Cadiz 
was  taken  and  plundered,  under  the  direction  of  Essex.t 
In  1598,  Philip  II.  died,  and  though  no  definite  peace 
was  made,  there  was  little  fighting  done  during  the  re- 
mainder of  the  queen's  life -time. 

*  He  came,  he  saw,  he  fled. 

+  Lord  Macaulay  says  of  this,  that  it  was  "the  most  brilliant  mili- 
tary exploit  achieved  on  the  continent  by  English  arms  during  the 
interval  which  elapsed  between  the  battle  of  Agincourt  and  that  of 
Blenheim"  (1415-1704). 


244  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

The  Irish  were  at  this  time  still  half- savage,  and  had 
never  become  reconciled  to  English  rule.*  The  Earl  of 
Tyrone,  a  native  chieftain  of  great  ability,  headed  a  re- 
bellion against  Elizabeth,  and  had  already  given  much 
trouble  when  Essex,  at  his  own  request,  was  sent  to  take 
command  in  Ireland.  He  was  not  able  to  bring  the  war 
to  a  conclusion,  though  he  made  a  truce,  during  which 
he  left  his  post,  contrary  to  the  queen's  express  orders, 
and  hastened  to  London,  where  he  presented  himself 
before  her  without  being  announced.t  The  queen  was 
so  startled  that  she  received  him  graciously,  at  which  he 
expressed  himself  much  comforted;  but  when  she  had 
had  time  to  think  it  over  she  was  very  indignant  at  his 
presumption,  and  ordered  him  to  be  confined  to  his  own 
house.  He,  as  well  as  every  one  else  about  the  court, 
expected  that  he  would  soon  be  restored  to  his  old  posi- 
tion as  her  favorite.  He  was  set  at  liberty,  but  the 
queen  refused  to  see  him.  Every  account  from  Ireland 
brought  fresh  news  of  his  misgovernment  there,  and  he 
was  too  popular  with  the  English  people  to  be  secure 
from  her  jealousy.  When  he  asked  for  a  renewal  of  his 
monopoly  of  sweet  wines  she  refused  to  grant  it,  saying 
(though  not  to  him)  that  "an  unruly  beast  must  be 

*  Henry  VII. 's  solution  of  the  problem  as  it  existed  in  his  time, 
was  ingenious.  When  the  Earl  of  Desmond  boldly  defied  the  Eng- 
lish government,  some  one  in  the  council  said,  impatiently,  "All 
Ireland  can  not  rule  this  man."  "Then  he  shall  rule  all  Ireland," 
said  the  king,  and  made  him  Lord  Deputy. 

t  The  chronicle  of  the  time  says :  "  He  stayed  not  till  he  came 
to  the  queen's  bedchamber,  where  he  found  the  queen  newly  up, 
with  her  hair  about  her  face.  *  *  'Tis  much  wondered  at 
that  he  went  so  boldly  to  her  majesty's  presence,  she  not  being 
ready,  and  he  so  full  of  dirt  and  mire  that  his  very  face  was  full  of  it. " 


THE  ARMADA.       IRELAND.  245 

stinted  in  his  provender."  He  was  unwise  enough  to 
make  the  remark  that  "the  queen  was  an  old  woman  as 
crooked  in  her  mind  as  she  was  in  her.  body."  Busy- 
bodies  took  care  to  report  this  speech,  which,  being 
made  about  the  vainest  woman  in  Europe,  was  not  likely 
to  increase  her  good  temper.  The  hot-headed  favorite 
now  became  a  rebel  in  good  earnest.  He  formed,  with 
a  few  other  persons  as  foolish  as  himself,  a  conspiracy 
against  the  queen's  government,  which  was  discovered 
and  the  chief  offenders  executed.  It  was  a  long  time 
before  Elizabeth  could  make  up  her  mind  to  sign  the 
death  warrant  of  Essex,  and  when  it  was  done  she  re- 
gretted it  for  the  rest  of  her  life. 

Lord  Mountjoy,  the  successor  of  Essex  in  Ireland, 
found  everything  there  in  the  worst  possible  condition, 
but  managed  so  well  that  in  three  years  the  rebellion  was 
at  an  end.  Yet  the  submission  of  Tyrone  brought  no 
joy  to  the  queen.  Life  had  lost  its  zest.  Her  people 
no  longer  greeted  her  appearance  with  rapture,  as  they 
had  done  at  Tilbury  Fort  or  on  one  of  her  earlier  "pro- 
gresses."* They  looked  on  in  silence,  and  she  missed 
the  old  enthusiastic  welcome.  For  a  while  after  Essex's 
death  the  queen  kept  up  the  old  habits — hunting,  danc- 
ing, travelling,  playing  on  the  "virginals"  (a  kind  of  an- 
cestor of  the  modern  piano),  and  trying  to  feel  that  no- 
thing had  changed;  but  age  was  creeping  upon  her,  and 
she  was  not  in  sympathy  with  the  more  serious  temper  of 
the  nation.  A  story  is  told,  not  on  the  best  authority, 
but  generally  believed,  of  a  bitter  experience  that  came 
to  her  some  time  after  her  favorite's  death.  She  had 
given  him  a  ring  (so  it  is  said),  promising  that  if  he  ever 

*  Royal  journeys  through  different  parts  of  the  kingdom. 


246  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

got  into  trouble  and  would  send  her  the  ring,  she  would 
help  him.  Not  receiving  it,  she  came  to  the  conclusion 
that  Essex's  obstinacy  and  "highmindedness"  had  pre- 
vented his  appealing  to  her,  and  therefore  allowed  him 
to  be  executed.  A  month  or  two  before  her  death,  the 
Countess  of  Nottingham,  being  on  her  own  death-bed, 
sent  for  her  and  confessed  that  Essex  had  intrusted  her 
with  the  ring,  and  that  her  husband,  who  was  a  political 
enemy  of  Essex,  had  forbidden  her  to  carry  it  to  the 
queen.  Upon  this,  Elizabeth  shook  the  dying  woman  ill 
her  bed,  crying,  "God  may  forgive  you,  but  I  never  will!." 
Such  is  the  story.  There  are  several  circumstances 
against  it,  but  a  ring,  said  to  be  the  one  about  which  the 
tale  is  told,  is  still  in  existence. 

Elizabeth's  last  weeks  were  very  sad  ones.  She  would 
sit  speechless  for  days  together,  in  the  deepest  melan- 
choly; and  once  called  for  a  sword,  with  which  she  made 
aimless  motions,  as  if  she  were  guarding  against  an 
attack.  Sir  Robert  Gary,  her  kinsman,  visited  her,  and, 
says:  "She  fetched  forty  or  fifty  great  sighs,  which  sur- 
prised me,  for  in  all  my  lifetime  I  never  knew  her  fetch 
a  sigh  except  when  the  queen  of  Scots  was  beheaded." 
She  refused  to  go  to  bed,  but  sat,  propped  up  with 
cushions,  and  took  no  notice  of  any  one.  Once  she  was 
roused  into  a  moment's  exhibition  of  the  old  spirit,  when 
Sir  Robert  Cecil  (who  was  the  son  of  Lord  Burleigh,  and 
succeeded  him  as  prime  minister)  told  her  she  "must" 
go  to  bed.  "Must!"  she  exclaimed.  "Little  man, 
little  man!*  thy  father,  if  he  had  been  alive,  durst  not 
have  used  that  word!"  When  the  old  question  of  the 
succession  was  brought  up,  and  the  name  of  Lord  Beau- 

*  Cecil  was  hump-backed  and  of  very  small  stature. 


THE  ARMADA.       IRELAND.  247 

champ*  (a  distant  relative  of  her  own)  was  proposed, 
she  said,  "I  will  have  no  rascal's  son,  but  a  king." 
"Rascal"  meant  a  common  person;  with  her,  a  subject. 
When  she  was  asked  if  it  should  be  the  king  of  Scots, 
she  put  her  hands  above  her  head,  to  signify  a  crown,  it 
was  said,  but  could  not  speak.  After  this  she  sank  into 
a  lethargy,  and  died  unconscious,  March  24,  1603,  in 
the  seventieth  year  of  her  age  and  the  forty-fifth  of  her 
reign. 

This  great  queen  was  so  wise  about  some  things  and 
so  foolish  about  others,  so  large-minded  and  yet  so  mean, 
at  once  so  keen-sighted  and  so  blind,  that  one  needs  to 
study  her  character  from  many  points  of  view  to  get  a 
correct  idea  of  it.  She  loved  England  with  her  whole 
heart;  and  though  wilful  and  capricious,  like  her  father, 
did  not  let  these  faults  interfere  with  the  people's  inter- 
ests. She  lacked  refinement,  and  was  perfectly  indiffer- 
ent to  truth  when  falsehood  would  serve  her  turn  better, 
while  her  temper  was  never  restrained  except  by  policy.t 
Abusive  and  profane  words  were  always  at  her  command, 
and  she  never  scrupled  to  use  them.  Her  appetite  for 
flattery  was  insatiable.  Nothing  could  be  too  gross  for 
her;  at  least  in  social  life.  If  any  one  tried  it  at  the 
council-board,  he  was  soon  reminded  that  they  were  met 
there  for  business.  Her  vanity,  even  when  she  was  an 
old  woman,  made  her  so  jealous  of  other  women  that  her 
courtiers  often  kept  their  marriages  secret  for  fear  of  ex- 
citing her  wrath.  Leicester,  Raleigh,  and  Essex,  all  mar- 

*  Pronounced  Beech'am. 

t  The  Earl  of  Huntington  complained,  in  a  letter  still  preserved 
in  the  British  Museum,  that  on  the  occasion  of  some  quarrel  she 
" pinched  his  wife  very  sorely." 


248  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

ried  without  her  knowledge  and  lost  her  favor  by  it  for  a 
time;  and  in  some  other  instances  she  punished  cruelly 
persons  who  had  presumed  to  marry  before  getting  her 
leave.  She  was  extravagantly  fond  of  dress,  partly,  per- 
haps, because  she  had  thought  it  more  prudent  to  curb 
this  taste  in  her  youth.  We  read  that  when  the  ladies 
in  Edward  VI. 's  time  went  to  meet  Mary  of  Guise  with 
their  hair  "frounsed,  curled,  and  double -curled,"  she 
altered  nothing,  but  "kept  her  old  shamefastness." 
So  she  made  up  for  this  when  she  could  do  as  she 
pleased.  Just  after  her  death  one  of  her  friends  wrote,. 
"She  made  no  will,  neither  gave  anything  away,  so  that 
they  which  shall  come  after  her  shall  find  a  well-furnished 
jewel-case  and  a  rich  wardrobe  of  more  than  two  thou- 
sand gowns,  with  all  things  answerable."  Her  extreme 
parsimony,  which  prevented  her  giving  away  the  ward- 
robe full  of  rich  dresses  which  she  could  not  use,  did  not 
keep  her  from  constantly  adding  to  this  immense  stock. 
And,  indeed,  it  has  been  observed  since  the  days  of 
Queen  Elizabeth,  that  persons  who  spend  lavishly  on 
themselves  are  often  the  most  penurious  when  it  comes 
to  spending  for  others. 

Yet  after  all,  notwithstanding  her  faults  and  follies,. 
Elizabeth  was  a  great  queen;  perhaps  the  greatest  in 
authentic  history. 


SIXTEENTH  CENTURY  SUMMARY.  249 

CHAPTER  XXXI. 

l6TH    CENTURY   SUMMARY.      JAMES    I. 

HAT  had  the  sixteenth  century  accomplished 
for  England?  For  one  thing,  it  was  more 
humane  at  its  close  than  at  its  beginning.  We 
no  longer  read  of  three  hundred  heads  at  a  time  exposed 
on  London  Bridge,  as  was  seen  by  a  German  traveller  in 
Queen  Elizabeth's  time.  Never  again  were  a  hundred 
thieves  condemned  to  the  gallows  at  once  in  a  single 
county.  The  care  of  the  poor  had  now  become  part 
of  the  public  business.  "Sturdy  beggars"  were  punished 
as  before,  but  the  old  and  the  helpless  were  provided 
for  by  requiring  the  well-to-do  to  give  ibr  their  support. 

The  struggle  went  on  between  the  kingly  prerogative, 
or  privilege,  and  the  growing  sense  of  the  rights  of  the 
people  as  represented  by  the  House  of  Commons.  Lit- 
tle by  little  the  Tudors  had  to  give  way,  though  we  find 
Elizabeth  trying,  almost  to  the  end  of  her  life,  to  control 
the  utterances  of  Parliament.  The  habit  of  respect  for 
royalty  was  so  strong  that  it  required  a  bold  man  to 
bring  forward  a  bill  on  any  topic  which  the  queen  had 
forbidden  to  be  touched;  and  when  one  attempted  it, 
he  was  very  likely  to  land  in  prison. 

The  feeling  of  old-fashioned  loyalty  was  weakening, 
year  by  year.  The  poor  man  who,  when  Elizabeth  had 
ordered  his  right  hand  to  be  struck  off  for  some  trivial 
offence,  waved  his  hat  over  his  head  with  the  left  and 
shouted  "God  save  the  queen!"  was  a  type  of  the  class 
that  has  never  appeared  since  the  Tudors  ceased  to 


250  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

reign.     The  gilding  was  rubbing  off  from  the  statues  of 
kings,  and  men  saw  that  after  all  they  were  but  clay. 

Domestic  comfort  had  advanced  somewhat  since  Henry 
VII.'s  time,  though  most  of  it  would  have  appeared 
"cold  comfort"  to  us.  "Hang  out  your  lights!"  was 
still  shouted  by  the  watch  at  nightfall,  for  there  were  no 
street  lamps.  Almost  everybody  had  chimneys,  though 
not,  perhaps,  the  very  poor,  as  these  additions  were  still 
considered  a  luxury.  When  the  queen  went  in  to  her 
dancing-hall,  the  passage  thither  was  covered  with  hay, 
"as  was  the  custom  of  the  court,"  an  observer  tells  us. 
We  still  admire  the  Elizabethan  style  of  architecture 
though  we  modify  it  internally  for  the  sake  of  conven- 
ience. Gray  names  some  of  its  features  with  good- 
humored  satire  when  he  writes  of  Sir  Christopher  Hat- 
ton's  house  as  having 

"  Rich  windows  that  exclude  the  light, 

And  passages  that  lead  to  nothing." 

Another  very  wealthy  man,  Sir  William  Hollis,  spent 
his  money  in  boundless  hospitality.  For  the  three  win- 
ter months  his  house  was  open,  and  any  man  might 
come  and  stay  three  days  without  declaring  his  name. 
Sir  William  would  never  dine  until  one  o'clock  (common 
people  dined  at  eleven,  and  very  great  ones  at  twelve), 
because,  he  said,  a  friend  might  come  twenty  miles  to 
dine  with  him,  and  he  "  would  be  loth  he  should  lose 
his  labor." 

The  young  gentlemen  of  the  time  liked  to  travel  occa- 
sionally (nobody  ever  thought  of  a  young  lady's  travel- 
ling!), and  when  one  came  to  Lord  Burleighfor  a  license) 
to  do  so,  he  would  first  question  him  about  England; 
"and  if  he  found  him  ignorant,  would  bid  him  stay  at 


SIXTEENTH  CENTURY  SUMMARY.  251 

home  and  know  his  own  country  first";  an  admirable  test 
of  one's  fitness  for  travelling. 

A  new  impulse  was  given  to  commerce  by  the  charter 
granted  by  Queen  Elizabeth  to  the  East  India  Company 
(Dec.  31,  1599).  It  was  at  first  only  a  trading  company, 
but  we  shall  see  it  develop  into  a  vast  empire. 

In  manufactures,  great  progress  was  made  during  the 
century,  and  England  exported  large  quantities  of  cloth 
to  the  continent.  A  pair  of  knit  silk  stockings  was  pre- 
sented to  Queen  Elizabeth  which  pleased  her  so  much 
that  she  never  afterward  wore  cloth  ones.  Pins  were 
also  invented,  ladies  having  previously  used  clasps  or 
skewers.  Great  sums  were  expended  on  rich  clothing, 
-and  writers  complain  that  in  this  respect  the  poor  aped 
the  manners  of  the  rich.  Cottagers'  daughters  "  are  so 
impudent,  that  albeit  their  parents  have  but  one  cow, 
horse  or  sheep,  they  will  never  let  them  rest  till  it  be 
sold,  to  maintain  them  in  their  braveries."  Queen 
Elizabeth  did  not  object  to  having  such  things  said 
about  the  poor,  but  when  the  Bishop  of  London  preached 
before  her  on  the  vanity  of  decking  the  body  too  finely, 
-she  told  her  ladies  that  if  the  bishop  held  more  discourse 
on  such  matters  she  would  fit  him  for  heaven,  but  he 
•should  walk  thither  without  a  staff,  and  leave  his  mantle 
behind  him.*  In  other  words,  he  should  lose  his  bishopric. 

One  practice  in  the  reign  of  Elizabeth  which  we  should 
be  ashamed  to  think  of  as  possible,  was  the  unblushing 
begging  of  rich  people  for  things  that  would  make  them 
richer.  The  queen  had  many  such  things  in  her  gift; 
sinecures  (offices  with  salaries  but  no  duties),  monopo- 
lies, forfeited  estates,  benefits  of  all  sorts  for  which  there 

*  In  allusion  to  his  pastoral  dress. 


253  HiS TORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

was  an  endless  stretching  out  of  open  hands.  She  said 
once  to  Sir  Walter  Raleigh : 

"When,  Sir  Walter,  will  you  cease  to  be  a  beggar?" 

"When  your  gracious  majesty  ceases  to  be  a  bene- 
factor," replied  the  ready  courtier. 

The  great  writers  of  Queen  Elizabeth's  reign  need  a 
book  to  themselves.  Sliakspeare,  Ben  Jonson,  and  Mar- 
lowe were  among  its  dramatists;  Spenser  and  Sidney 
among  its  poets;  Hooker  and  Bacon  among  its  prose- 
writers.  Thomas  Sackville,  afterward  Lord  Buckhurst, 
but  best  known  as  the  author  of  "The  Mirror  for  Magis- 
trates" and  "Gorboduc"  (the  first  English  tragedy),  was 
among  her  most  trusted  councillors.  Roger  Ascham,* 
one  of  the  most  learned  men  in  England,  was  Queen 
Elizabeth's  tutor.  His  fine  treatise  on  education  was 
published  in  her  reign.  The  queen  had  some  literary 
aspirations  and  wrote  one  very  poor  sonnet:  but  her 
most  important  writings  were  her  business  letters,  where 
she  often  breaks  out  into  metaphors  and  is  very  fond 
of  proverbs.  In  writing  to  an  ambassador,  instead  of 
telling  him  to  burn  her  letter  as  soon  as  he  has  read 
it,  she  says,  "Let  this  memorial  be  only  committed  to 
Vulcan's  base  keeping,  without  any  larger  abode  than 
the  reading  thereof,  yea,  and  with  no  mention  made 
thereof  to  any  other  wight.  *  *  *  Seem  not  to 
have  had  but  secretary's  letter  from  me"  This  is  Queen 
Elizabeth,  to  the  life.  It  is  evident  that  the  ambassador 
did  not  obey  her  injunction  on  the  first  point,  whatever 
he  may  have  done  as  to  the  others. 

James  I.  lost  no  time  in  setting  out  for  London  when 
the  queen's  death  was  reported  to  him.  He  was  acknowl- 

*  Pronounced  As'kam. 


JAMES  I.  253 

edged  king  without  opposition,  chiefly  through  the  efforts 
of  Sir  Robert  Cecil,  whom  he  retained  as  prime  minister 
and  created  Earl  of  Salisbury.  On  his  way  from  Edin- 
burgh he  bestowed  the  honor  of  knighthood  upon  two 
hundred  and  thirty-seven  gentlemen  who  were  presented 
to  him,  thus  bringing  the  time -honored  institution  into 
derision.  James  was,  in  fact,  so  contemptible  a  person 
in  all  ways  that  affected  the  honor  and  welfare  of  his 
people,  that  the  English  nation  soon  became  disgusted 
with  him,  and  his  reign  was  one  long  struggle  between 
their  sense  of  right  and  his  determination  to  have  his 
own  way.  He  was  most  unkingly  in  his  looks  and  man- 
ners. He  had  goggle  eyes  and  weak  legs,  and  a  habit  of 
holding  his  mouth  open  so  that  people  could  see  his 
tongue  while  he  was  talking.  As  he  talked  a  great  deal 
and  said  many  foolish  things,  his  failings  were  very  con- 
spicuous. He  had  an  immense  amount  of  book-learning, 
but  very  little  practical  common  sense,  as  was  shown  by 
his  announcing  that  kings  ruled  by  divine  right,  and  that 
whatever  privileges  the  subject  possessed  were  due  to  the 
condescension  of  the  king.  When  a  man  sets  out  with 
such  a  stupid  idea  as  this  in  an  intelligent  country  like 
England,  we  may  be  sure  that  the  people  will  make  it 
very  uncomfortable  for  him. 

James  soon  made  himself  so  disagreeable  by  his  vul- 
garity, his  greed  for  money,  and  his  insolence,  that  a  con- 
spiracy was  formed  within  the  first  year  of  his  reign  to 
dethrone  him  and  place  his  cousin,  Lady  Arabella  Stuart 
(daughter  of  Lord  Darnley's  brother)  on  the  throne.  This 
was  discovered,  and  some  of  the  actors  in  it  were  exe- 
cuted, while  James  pardoned  others  after  they  had  laid 
their  heads  on  the  block.  We  should  scarcely  remember 


254  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

this  plot  but  that  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  was  accused  of  being 
concerned  in  it.  There  was  not  evidence  enough  to  con- 
vict him,  yet  he  was  sentenced  to  death  and  left  in  the 
Tower  for  twelve  years — a  singular  way  of  administering 
justice.  Sir  Edward  Coke,  the  attorney -general,  was  a 
bitter  enemy  of  Raleigh,  and  behaved  on  the  trial  with  a 
brutality  that  has  made  his  name  infamous.  In  the  same 
year  (1604)  James  made  peace  with  Spain,  thus  ending 
the  long  war  between  the  two  countries.  He  also  was 
proclaimed  king  of  "Great  Britain,  France,  and  Ireland," 
though  properly  there  was  no  sovereign  of  "Great  Britain" 
until  after  the  union  with  Scotland  (1707).  The  absurd 
use  of  the  title  "King  of  France"  was  kept  up  for  two 
hundred  years  longer,  not  being  dropped  until  the  nine- 
teenth century. 

The  year  1605  is  memorable  as  that  of  the  gunpowder 
plot.  The  Roman  Catholics  had  expected  great  favors 
from  James  I.  (who  was  so  bitterly  opposed  to  Puritan- 
ism that  they  thought  he  would  naturally  go  to  the  oppo- 
site extreme)  but  on  finding  that  the  severe  laws  against 
themselves  were  re-enacted  by  James's  first  Parliament, 
a  lew  persons  formed  a  plan  for  getting  rid  of  the  king 
and  the  Parliament  together.  They  hired  a  building 
adjoining  the  Houses,  and,  from  the  cellar  of  this,  dug 
with  incredible  labor  a  passage  through  a  wall  nine  feet 
thick  into  the  vault  under  the  Parliament  Chamber.  In 
this  vault  they  stored  thirty-six  barrels  of  gunpowder, 
which  they  covered  with  fagots,  so  that  the  whole  looked 
like  a  great  wood-pile.  Parliament  was  to  be  opened  on 
the  5th  of  November;*  and  on  the  previous  day,  Lord 

•"Remember,  remember   the  Fifth  of  November, 
The  Gunpowder  Treason  and  Plot. " — Old  song. 


JAMES  I.  255 

Monteagle,  a  Roman  Catholic  peer,  received  a  mysteri- 
ous letter  warning  him  to  keep  away  from  the  session  on 
that  day,  "for  though  there  would  be  no  appearance  of 
any  stir,  yet  I  say  they  shall  receive  a  terrible  blow  this 
Parliament,  but  shall  not  see  who  hurts  them."  Lord 
Monteagle  instantly  gave  warning  to  the  authorities;  and 
they,  judging  from  the  words  used  that  an  explosion  must 
be  meant,  sent  to  examine  the  vaults.  There  they  found 
a  tall,  dark  man  with  slow  matches  and  touchwood  in  his 
pocket,  just  coming  out  of  the  door,  and  in  the  cellar  a 
dark-lantern  with  a  lighted  candle  in  it.  The  man  turned 
out  to  be  Guido  Fawkes  (commonly  called  by  the  Eng- 
lish name,  Guy)  who  gave  a  false  name,  but  was  made  to- 
tell  his  real  one  by  cruel  torture.  The  plan  had  been  to 
blow  up  the  entire  Parliament,  Lords,  and  Commons, 
together  with  the  king  and  his  oldest  son,  Prince  Henry, 
who  would  be  present  at  the  opening.  They  seemed  to- 
have  very  vague  notions  of  what  would  come  next,  but 
expected,  somehow  or  other,  to  have  a  new  set  of  laws 
made  which  should  favor  the  Catholics.  The  chief  con- 
spirators, among  whom  were  Sir  Everard  Digby  and 
Robert  Catesby,  both  belonging  to  families  of  distinc- 
tion, were  executed.  Most  of  the  Catholics  in  England 
looked  with  horror  on  the  plot,  and  several  of  them,  like 
Lord  Monteagle,  gave  their  help  in  unearthing  it. 

In  1607,  an  event  occurred  which  seemed  of  very  little 
importance  to  the  English  world  of  that  time,  but  which 
is  a  notable  fact  in  our  own  history;  the  first  permanent 
English  settlement  was  made  in  America,  at  Jamestown 
(so  called  in  compliment  to  King  James  I.),  by  Captain 
John  Smith  and  his  companions.  The  king  gave  the 
colonists  a  charter  which  allowed  them  to  make  their 


256  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

own  laws,  under  a  governor  appointed  by  himself.    From 
this  time  we  date  English  rule  in  America. 

Now  began  the  long  struggle  between  King  James  and 
his  Parliaments  which  forms  the  most  striking  feature  of 
his  reign.  He  called  one  together  only  when  he  needed 
money;  the  Parliament  regularly  demanded  that  he 
should  reform  some  of  the  old  abuses  of  the  government, 
especially  the  Court  of  High  Commission,  and  give  up 
some  ways  of  raising  money  which  the  Commons  thought 
it  high  time  to  do  away  with.  James  was  obstinate  and 
they  were  firm,  according  to  our  way  of  looking  at  it; 
they  voted  him  only  about  half  as  much  as  he  needed  to 
carry  on  the  government,  and  reminded  him  that  all  tax- 
ation without  consent  of  Parliament  was  null  and  void. 
Then  he  dissolved  the  Parliament  and  went  on  raising 
money  illegally;  but  with  all  his  efforts  he  could  not  get 
as  much  as  was  needed  for  his  boundless  extravagance. 
Court  life  was  spent  in  costly  pleasures,  and  his  palaces 
were  the  scene  of  a  continual  round  of  balls,  masques, 
and  feastings,  which  the  low  tastes  of  James  and  his 
queen,  Anne  of  Denmark,  turned  into  drunken  revels. 
He  could  not  live  without  a  "favorite";  some  man  who 
could  entertain  him,  while  the  king  would  go  about  with 
his  arm  round  the  favorite's  neck,  "slobbering  over  him," 
as  we  are  told,  and  kissing  him  in  his  disgusting  fondness, 
calling  him  by  pet  names,  and  scandalizing  all  decent 
people  by  his  behavior.  The  sums  squandered  on  these 
degraded  objects  of  his  infatuation  are  beyond  belief. 
On  one  occasion  he  gave  his  friend  Carr  an  order  on  the 
treasury  for  ^"20,000.  Lord  Salisbury  (Robert  Cecil) 
had  the  money  counted  out  in  silver  and  spread  out  in  a 
room  where  the  king  was  to  meet  him.  "Whose  is  that 


JAMES  I.  257 

money?"  asked  James.  "It  was  yours  until  your  Majesty 
gave  it  away,"  answered  the  minister.  This  "object 
lesson"  had  the  desired  effect.  James  swore  that  the 
favorite  should  have  only  a  few  hundreds  of  it,  and  kept 
the  rest  himself.  The  reform  was  not  permanent,  how- 
ever, and  the  grasping  and  the  wasting  went  on  as  be- 
fore. Carr,  who  had  been  created  Duke  of  Somerset  by 
the  king,  wished  to  marry  the  wife  of  the  Earl  of  Essex 
{son  of  Queen  Elizabeth's  favorite),  who  for  this  purpose 
obtained  a  divorce  from  her  husband.  This  was  opposed 
by  Sir  Thomas  Overbury  (one  of  James's  courtiers),  who 
tried  vainly  to  prevent  the  marriage.  Somerset  and  his 
wife  caused  Overbury  to  be  poisoned,  and  were  afterward 
sentenced  to  death  for  the  crime.  If  they  had  been  poor 
people  they  would  have  died  on  the  gallows;  but  being 
41  noble,"  James  only  banished  them  from  his  royal  pres- 
ence and  gave  them  an  income  of  $20,000  a  year.  There 
is  poetical  justice  in  the  fact  that  they  were  very  unhappy, 
and  hated  each  other  cordially  for  the  rest  of  their  lives. 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

THE    BLOODY   HAND.       RALEIGH.        TRANSLATION    OF   THE 
BIBLE. 


[ING   JAMES,    like  most  extravagant   persons, 
was    always     short    of   money;    and    an  in- 
genious courtier  suggested  a  way  to  replenish 
his  finances*  by  creating  a  title  of  honor  between  the 
knights  and  the  lowest  order  of  nobility,  the  barons. 
*  Pronounced  fi«a«-ces — accent  on  the  second  syllable. 
17 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


These  new  dignitaries  were  to  be  called  baronets.  They 
would  be  addressed  by  the  title  "  Sir,"  like  knights,  and 
their  wives  would  be  called  "Lady/'  the  difference  being 
that  the  title  was  hereditary.  The  king  caught  eagerly  at 
the  idea,  and  made  as  many  baronets  as  could  be  found 
willing  to  purchase  the  privilege,  each  one  being  required 
to  pay  a  thousand  pounds  to  the  king,  besides  fees  to- 
various  officers.  James  wished  to  bestow  the  honor  on 
two  hundred  gentlemen;  about  half  that  number  availed 
themselves  of  the  offer.  A  scheme  of  colonizing  the  prov- 
ince of  Ulster,  in  Ireland,  with  English  settlers,  who- 
were  to  take  possession  of  the  land  forfeited  by  rebels, 
was  the  excuse  for  this  device  for  raising  money.  The 
infant  colony,  it  was  said,  needed  a  military  guard  to  pro- 
tect it  from  its  savage  neighbors;  but  the  money  raised 
by  the  sale  of  baronetcies  did  not  go  to  Ulster;  it  re- 
mained in  the  king's  pocket.  The  arms  of  Ulster  were 
a  bloody  hand,  and  this,  being  adopted  for  the  new  order, 
has  been  the  crest  appropriated  to  baronets  ever  since. 
The  death  of  Lord  Salisbury  (1612)  removed  the  prin- 
cipal check  upon  James's  extravagance,  and  his  govern- 
ment became  even  less  respected  than  before.  Henry, 
Prince  of  Wales,  the  king's  oldest  son,  died  soon  after- 
ward from  a  fever.  This  young  man  was  very  fond  of 
Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  whom  he  often  visited  in  the  Tower; 
and  it  is  reported  that  he  said  nobody  but  his  father 
would  keep  such  a  bird  in  such  a  cage.  James  had  now 
only  two  children  left;  Prince  Charles,  who  afterward 
became  King  of  England,  and  the  Princess  Elizabeth, 
married  to  the  Elector  Palatine,  a  German  sovereign 
ruling  over  a  territory  nearly  corresponding  to  the  more 
recent  Grand  Duchy  of  Baden.  It  is  through  this  prin- 


THE  BLOODY  HAND.       RALEIGH.  259 

cess  that  the  present  royal  family  of  England  take  their 
title  to  the  throne. 

After  the  dismissal  of  Somerset,  King  James  took  up 
a  new  favorite,  George  Villiers,  who  was,  like  Carr,  hand- 
some and  agreeable,  but  had  far  more  ability  and  daring. 
He  spoke  out  his  mind  with  great  freedom,  and  soon  ac- 
quired unbounded  influence  over  his  master.  This  made 
him  hated  by  other  courtiers,  who  could  get  nothing 
from  the  king  without  first  securing  the  favor  of  Villiers, 
and  distrusted  by  the  Parliament.  James  advanced  his 
favorite  from  one  dignity  to  another  until  he  made  him 
Duke  of  Buckingham,  thus  securing  for  his  benefit  the 
title  of  one  of  the  proudest  families  in  England. 

All  this  time,  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  had  been  languishing 
in  prison.  It  is  said  that  his  imprisonment  was  not  severe 
and  that  his  wife  was  allowed  to  be  with  him.  He  was 
very  industrious,  and  not  only  wrote  the  "History  of  the 
World"  during  his  confinement,  but  amused  himself  with 
experiments  in  chemistry,  in  which  he  was  very  skilful. 
Though  he  was  now  sixty- three  years  old,  he  was  full  of 
vigor  and  enthusiasm,  and  in  an  evil  hour  he  persuaded 
the  king  to  allow  him  to  go  to  Guiana,  in  South  America, 
where,  he  said,  he  knew  of  some  gold  mines.  Gold  al- 
ways opened  a  way  to  James's  heart;  he  consented  to 
release  Raleigh,  though  without  pardoning  him,  and  sent 
him  out  on  his  quest. 

What  was  called  Guiana  in  Raleigh's  time  included 
what  we  now  call  Venezuela,  and  it  was  somewhere  on 
the  Orinoco  that  Raleigh  expected  to  find  the  mine.  As 
the  country  belonged  to  Spain,  the  English  could  have 
no  right  to  enter  it  except  peaceably,  and  Raleigh  was 
warned  that  there  must  be  no  fighting.  The  expedition 


260  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

proved  a  failure;  no  gold  mine  was  found,  and  Raleigh's 
son  was  killed  in  an  encounter  with  the  Spaniards. 

The  Spanish  minister  in  London,  whose  brother  had 
been  killed  at  St.  Thomas  (a  Spanish  fort  taken  and  de- 
stroyed by  one  of  Raleigh's  captains  while  Sir  Walter  was 
ill  on  his  own  ship),  now  demanded  the  punishment  of 
Raleigh  for  having  attacked  Spain  in  time  of  peace.  The 
mean,  cowardly  James,  wishing  to  marry  his  son  to  a 
Spanish  princess,  determined  to  sacrifice  Raleigh;  and 
instead  of  accusing  him  of  his  real  offence,  which  was 
carrying  out  the  king's  wishes  with  too  much  zeal,  he 
had  the  baseness  to  order  the  execution  of  the  sentence 
passed  against  him  fourteen  years  before.  Raleigh  met 
his  death  bravely  and  calmly,  saying  of  the  axe  that  was 
to  behead  him,  '"Tis  a  sharp  remedy,  but  it  is  a  cure  for 
all  ills."  No  action  of  James's  reign,  though  he  commit- 
ted many  disgraceful  ones,  has  left  so  deep  a  stain  upon 
his  name  as  this  (1618). 

In  1620,  we  come  to  another  of  those  landmarks  of 
time  which  stand  out  so  distinctly  in  our  sight — the  sail- 
ing of  the  "Pilgrim  Fathers"  in  the  Mayflower.  These 
emigrants  belonged  to  that  class  of  Puritans  called 
"Brownists"  from  their  founder,  or  "Separatists,"  because 
they  wished  to  separate  themselves  entirely  from  the 
Church  of  England.  Driven  from  their  own  country 
by  persecution,  they  settled  for  awhile  at  Leyden,  in 
Holland,  and  then,  stopping  for  a  short  time  in  England, 
sailed  from  Plymouth,  in  Devonshire,  to  Plymouth,  in 
Massachusetts  Bay. 

Frederic  V.,  the  Elector  Palatine,  who  had  married 
James's  daughter,  Elizabeth,  was  at  this  time  (1620)  in 
trouble  from  having  accepted  an  invitation  from  the  Pro- 


THE  BLOODY  HAND.       RALEIGH.  261 

testants  of  Bohemia  to  become  their  king.  He  was  de- 
feated by  the  legitimate  claimant;  and  all  Europe  was 
looking  on,  expecting  that  James  would  send  help  to  his 
son-in-law,  whose  cause  was  well  understood  to  be  the 
cause  of  Protestantism.  The  king's  theories,  however, 
did  not  permit  that.  According  to  them,  the  Catholic 
King  of  Bohemia  was  so  by  Divine  right;  therefore,  his 
subjects  must  not  try  to  get  rid  of  him  and  take  a  Pro- 
testant in  his  place.  This  added  to  James's  unpopu- 
larity in  England,  and  he  soon  came  to  an  open  quarrel 
with  the  Commons.  They  became  more  out- spoken 
than  ever,  and  when  James  told  them  that  they  had  no 
rights  except  such  as  he  chose  to  allow  them,  they  an- 
swered with  spirit  that  the  rights  and  liberties  of  the  peo- 
ple of  England  were  quite  independent  of  the  king,  and 
that  they  had,  and  ought  to  have,  freedom  "to  propound, 
treat,  reason,  and  bring  to  conclusion"  whatever  con- 
cerned the  welfare  of  the  country.  This  is  exactly  the 
spirit  of  the  "Declaration  of  Rights"  by  our  own  Conti- 
nental Congress,  and  of  all  the  other  sturdy  utterances 
which  preceded  and  led  up  to  our  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence. James  was  furiously  angry.  He  sent  for  the 
journal  of  the  House  of  Commons,  and  tore  out  the  re- 
cord of  the  offensive  resolution.  "I  will  govern  accord- 
ing to  the  common  weal,"  said  he,  "but  not  according  to 
the  common  will."  He  dissolved  the  Parliament;  but  it 
was  like  shutting  up  a  smouldering  fire.  It  is  checked 
for  the  moment;  but  sooner  or  later  the  flame  will  burst 
forth,  and  the  ruin  will  follow  all  the  more  surely. 

One  measure  had  been  carried  through  by  this  Parlia- 
ment which  we  can  not  even  now  think  of  without  pain. 
This  was  the  impeachment,  for  bribery  and  corruption, 


262  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

of  Francis  Bacon,  Viscount  St.  Albans,  Lord  Chancellor 
of  England;  the  "wisest,  brightest,  meanest  of  mankind," 
as  Pope  calls  him.  It  was  not  that  he  had  been  more 
corrupt  than  others,  but  that  Parliament  was  determined 
to  make  an  example,  and  unfortunately  Bacon  was  open 
to  some  charges  of  this  kind.  The  bribes  he  had  taken 
had  been  few,  but  they  were  enough  to  convict  him. 
This  truly  great  man,  occupying  the  highest  position  it 
was  possible  for  a  subject  to  hold  in  England,  was  de- 
graded from  his  office,  sentenced  to  pay  a  fine  of  ,£40,- 
ooo,  and  to  be  imprisoned  during  the  king's  pleasure. 
The  latter  punishment  was  remitted  by  James,  but  the 
far  greater  one,  the  loss  of  his  good  name,  could  not  be 
spared  him.  He  lived  five  years  longer,  a  retired  life, 
devoted  to  study  and  scientific  pursuits,  happier,  per- 
haps, than  he  had  been  in  the  feverish  struggle  for  wealth. 
His  extravagance  had  undone  him. 

Disappointed  in  getting  money  from  Parliament,  James 
now  began  intriguing  with  Spain  for  the  marriage  of  his 
son,  Prince  Charles,  to  the  Infanta  (princess)  of  that 
country — a  measure  which  he  knew  to  be  most  distaste- 
ful to  his  subjects.  "I  must  have  money,"  said  this 
worthy  king,  "and  if  my  people  won't  give  it  to  me,  I 
must  get  it  from  Spain  in  the  shape  of  a  dowry."  After 
some  negotiation  with  the  Spanish  court,  the  prince,  or,  as 
his  father  delighted  to  call  him,  Baby  Charles,  set  off  for 
Spain  with  Buckingham,  whom  the  king  nicknamed 
"Steenie,"*  and  they  travelled  there  in  disguise  under 
the  names  of  John  and  Thomas  Smith.  As  their  coming 
had  not  been  announced,  much  surprise  was  felt  in  Spain 

*Sir  Walter  Scott's  novel,  "The  Fortunes  of  Nigel, "  treats  of 
life  in  England  under  James  L 


THE  BLOODY  HAND.       RALEIGH.  263 

at  so  un-royal  a  proceeding;  but  they  were  politely  re- 
ceived, and  Prince  Charles  was  allowed  to  see  the 
Infanta.  The  negotiations  came  to  nothing,  and  the 
visitors  went  back  to  England  very  much  displeased. 
Buckingham,  who  had  behaved  at  the  Spanish  court  with 
such  insolent  familiarity  as  to  disgust  every  one  who  saw 
him,  pretended,  on  his  return,  that  he  had  prevented  the 
match,  and  Prince  Charles,  the  most  untruthful  of  men, 
supported  him  in  this  statement.  James  was  inconsol- 
able at  the  loss  of  two  millions  of  gold  crowns,  which  he 
was  to  have  had  with  the  Infanta,  but  the  Commons, 
thankful  to  get  rid  of  the  marriage  at  any  price,  immedi- 
ately voted  him  a  large  sum  of  money,  and  all  seemed 
to  be  prospering  when  the  king  was  attacked  by  an  ague, 
and  died  after  a  few  days'  illness.  He  was  in  the  fifty- 
ninth  year  of  his  age,  and  had  reigned  twenty-two  years 
in  England. 

It  is  hard  to  be  just  to  James  the  First.  His  personal 
qualities  were  so  disagreeable  and  many  of  his  notions 
so  foolish  that  they  obscure  his  better  qualities.  He  had 
not  the  rough  strength  of  the  Plantagenets  nor  the 
dignity  of  the  Tudors.  He  was  personally  a  coward,  and 
wore  a  thickly  padded  coat  for  fear  some  one  should 
stab  him;  at  the  same  time  he  was  slovenly  in  his  habits 
and  an  habitual  profane  swearer.  In  government,  he 
seemed  to  lack  all  sense  of  responsibility,  his  vanity 
making  him  believe  that  it  was  enough  for  him  to  will  a 
thing  to  make  that  the  only  thing  possible  to  be  done. 
His  friends  called  him  the  British  Solomon;  Henry  IV. 
of  France  said  he  was  "the  wisest  fool  in  Europe." 
Among  other  efforts  to  interfere  with  people's  personal 
rights  was  his  trying  to  prevent  the  use  of  tobacco,  which 


264  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

had  by  this  time  grown  into  great  favor.  James  was  very- 
fond  of  writing  books,  and  in  his  "Counterblast  to  To- 
bacco" describes  the  use  of  that  weed  as  being  a  custom 
"loathsome  to  the  eye,  hateful  to  the  nose,  harmful  to- 
the  brain,  and  injurious  to  the  lungs."  King  James's  own 
contributions  to  learning  are  now  merely  matters  of 
curiosity;  the  great  addition  to  the  stock  of  the  world's 
literature  in  his  reign  was  the  translation  of  the  Bible 
made  by  his  order  and  published  in  1611.  This  is  the 
"Authorized  Version" — the  one  now  in  common  use. 
Forty-seven  learned  men  were  employed  on  it  for  four 
years,  and  by  its  means  our  English  language  has  been 
fixed  in  its  present  form. 

Many  famous  dramatists  and  poets  lived  in  James  I.'s 
reign,  some  of  them  belonging  also  partly  to  Elizabeth's. 
Shakspeare  did  not  die  until  1616;  Bacon  and  Raleigh 
come  in  both  centuries.  Names  of  lesser  note  must  be 
learned  in  connection  with  English  literature.  Among 
men  of  science  perhaps  next  to  Bacon,  stands  Dr.  Harvey,, 
discoverer  of  the  circulation  of  the  blood.  It  is  said 
that  he  lost  practice  by  putting  forth  so  absurd  an  idea. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 
CHARLES  i.    "THE  THOROUGH."    THE  LONG  PARLIAMENT. 

]OON  after  his  accession,  Charles  I.  brought 
home  his  bride,  Henrietta  Maria,  the  daughter 
of  Henry  IV.  of  France  and  sister  of  Louis 

XIII.     She  was  only  sixteen,  and  brought  in  her  train  a. 

great  company  of  French   courtiers,  and  twenty- nine 


CHARLES  I.       THE  LONG  PARLIAMENT.       265 

priests,  so  that  the  English  were  at  once  prejudiced 
against  her. 

Charles  was  now  twenty-five  years  old  (1625).  A 
Parliament  was  promptly  summoned,  for  James  had  left 
the  country  without  money  and  in  debt.  The  first  de- 
mand of  the  Commons  was  for  a  redress  of  grievances; 
they  demanded  stricter  laws  in  regard  to  religion,  and 
wished  to  know  for  what  purpose  the  king  was  going  to 
use  the  money  he  asked  for.  Haughtily  declining  to 
answer  this,  he  disolved  the  Parliament  (1625),  and  pro- 
ceeded to  levy  taxes  on  his  own  authority,  in  defiance  of 
the  laws.  Buckingham  undertook  an  expedition  for  the 
relief  of  the  Huguenots  in  La  Rochelle,*  but  it  was  a 
complete  failure,  with  no  result  but  an  immense  increase 
of  debt  ^1627).  The  Commons  sent  a  "Remonstrance" 
to  the  king,  in  which  they  complained  that  the  conduct 
of  the  war  had  "extremely  wasted  that  stock  of  honor 
that  was  left  unto  this  kingdom,  sometime  terrible  to  all 
other  nations,  now  declining  in  contempt  beneath  the 
meanest."  As  they  further  demanded  the  dismissal  of 
the  Duke  of  Buckingham,  the  second  Parliament  was  dis- 
missed like  the  first  (1626).  A  second  expedition  was 
about  to  sail  for  France  in  aid  of  the  Huguenots;  Buck- 
ingham, in  spite  of  his  evident  incapacity,  being  again 
put  in  command,  when  he  was  assassinated  by  John  Fel- 
ton,  a  lieutenant  in  the  navy  who  was  angry  at  being 
refused  promotion.  The  king  wept;  the  people  shouted 
for  joy.  The  Earl  of  Lindsey  took  Buckingham's  place, 
made  another  failure,  and  the  starving  garrison  of  La 
Rochelle  surrendered  to  the  Catholics. 

One  more  Parliament  (whom  Charles,  on  dismissing 

*  See  "A  Short  History  of  France,"  p.  214. 


266  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

them,  called  "a  set  of  vipers")  closes  the  first  period  of 
his  reign.  It  presented  to  the  king  the  famous  "Petition 
of  Right,"  a  sort  of  re-statement  of  the  Magna  Charta, 
which  he  was  forced  to  sign.  He  ventured  on  an  im- 
prudent exercise  of  his  prerogative  by  committing  to  the 
Tower  several  members  who  opposed  his  wishes.  Some 
of  them  were  released  on  bail,  but  Sir  John  Eliot,  refus- 
ing to  make  any  submission,  was  kept  in  prison  until  he 
died,  three  years  later,  of  a  disease  brought  on  by  his 
close  confinement.  He  is  often  called  the  first  martyr  in 
the  cause  of  English  liberty. 

Among  the  "grievances"  of  which  redress  was  demand- 
ed were  two  illegal  courts;  the  Star- Chamber,  which 
dealt  with  political  offenders,  and  the  Court  of  High 
Commission  (dating  from  Elizabeth's  day)  which  judged 
ecclesiastical  cases.  The  Star- Chamber  had  long  been 
in  existence,  but  had  never  until  now  been  so  scandal- 
ously misused.  Men  who  were  brought  before  these 
courts  were  condemned  to  punishments  far  beyond  any 
which  would  have  been  inflicted  in  an  ordinary  court  of 
justice.  Crushing  fines,  whipping,  branding,  slicing  off 
of  ears  in  the  pillory,  and  slitting  of  noses,  besides  in- 
definite imprisonment,  were  among  the  sentences  passed 
on  persons  who  spoke  or  wrote  anything  against  the 
king's  majesty  or  against  the  established  church;  and 
there  was  no  redress. 

For  eleven  years  (1629-1640),  Charles  ruled  without 
a  Parliament,  and  by  means  which  the  Petition  of  Right, 
signed  by  himself,  had  declared  to  be  illegal.  His  chosen 
ministers  during  this  time  were  Thomas  Wentworth,  who 
had  begun  his  career  as  an  ardent  friend  of  liberty,  and 
Dr.  William  Laud,  lately  made  Archbishop  of  Canter- 


CHARLES  I.       THE  LONG  PARLIAMENT.       267 

bury.  These  two  men  concerted  with  Charles  a  system 
which  they  called  "The  Thorough,"  and  which,  when 
•carried  out,  was  intended  to  reduce  every  man  in  the 
kingdom,  body  and  soul,  into  complete  subjection. 
Wentworth  forgot  all  about  the  people's  liberties  after  he 
became  chief  minister  of  the  king,  and  Laud  had  but  one 
•wish,  that  of  establishing  the  English  liturgy,  by  force  if 
need  be,  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land. 
Being  in  need  of  money,  Charles  now  proceeded  to 
levy  tonnage  and  poundage*  on  his  own  authority,  and 
also  demanded  ship-money — a  tax  for  the  equipment  of 
a  navy — from  the  whole  kingdom.  In  addition  to  these 
he  granted  monopolies  (of  course  in  return  for  large  pay- 
ments of  money)  though  the  Parliament  had  made  all 
monopolies  illegal  and  had  forever  abolished  them.t 
John  Hampden,  a  gentleman  from  Buckinghamshire, 
refused  to  pay  the  ship-money,  and  brought  the  matter 
before  the  law-courts.  His  share  was  only  twenty  shil- 
lings, equal  to  $5,  and  he  spent  at  least  a  hundred  times 
as  much  in  defending  the  case,  which  was  decided  against 
him;  but  his  resistance  awakened  people  to  a  sense  of 
their  danger.  The  attacks  on  their  pockets,  however, 
did  not  press  so  heavily  on  the  English  as  the  attacks  on 
their  religion.  James  I.  had  issued  a  "Book  of  Sports" 
which  specified  certain  games  as  lawful  to  be  played  on 
Sunday.  Charles's  Parliaments,  being  strongly  Puritan 

*  Duties  on  articles  imported  from  foreign  countries. 

+  Speaking  of  the  monopolists,  who  made  their  own  prices  for  the 
•most  necessary  commodities,  like  soap  and  salt,  a  member  of  Parlia- 
ment said,  "  They  sup  in  our  cup,  they  dip  in  our  dish,  they  sit  by 
our  fire;  we  find  them  in  the  dye- vat,  the  wash-bowls  and  the  pow- 
<iering-tub.  They  have  marked  and  sealed  us  from  head  to  foot. " 


2C8  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

in  sentiment,  had  forbidden  Sunday  pastimes.  The  king 
now  issued  a  proclamation  authorizing  such  sports,  which 
he  required  every  minister  to  read  aloud  from  his  pulpit. 
One  of  them  did  so,  and  at  the  close  of  the  reading  said, 
"You  have  now  heard  the  commandment  of  God  and  the 
commandment  of  man;  obey  which  you  please."  Most 
of  the  Puritan  clergymen  refused  to  comply,  and  were 
turned  out  of  their  parishes  by  the  Court  of  High  Com- 
mission. Many  of  them  took  refuge  in  New  England, 
where  they  could  worship  God  according  to  their  own 
consciences.  England's  loss  was  America's  gain. 

At  the  same  period  with  the  Puritan  exodus,  a  different 
class  of  religious  believers  were  finding  a  home  on  our 
shores.  Lord  Baltimore,  a  high-minded  Roman  Catholic, 
wishing  to  provide  a  refuge  for  the  persecuted  people  of 
his  own  belief,  obtained  from  Charles  (1632)  a  grant  of 
lands  on  the  shores  of  Chesapeake  Bay,  where  a  thriving 
colony  was  established  which  was  named  Maryland,  after 
Charles's  queen,  Henriette  Marie.  Lord  Baltimore  was 
the  first  to  give  to  the  world  the  noble  spectacle  of  a 
colony  founded  on  complete  religious  toleration. 

In  Scotland,  Laud's  attempts  to  enforce  Episcopacy 
were  not  so  successful  as  in  England.  He  prepared  a 
liturgy  for  the  Scottish  Church,  modeled  on  that  of  Eng- 
land, and  a  day  was  appointed  for  its  first  use.  A  large 
congregation  was  assembled  in  the  cathedral  of  St.  Giles 
in  Edinburgh,  and  the  dean  began  to  read  the  service. 
Instantly  cries  of  "A  Pope!  A  Pope!  Antichrist!"  filled 
the  air,  and  an  enraged  woman  named  Jenny  Geddes 
6ung  a  stool  at  the  dean's  head.  The  uproar  was  sa 
great  that  the  meeting  broke  up  in  confusion.  A  cove- 
nant was  drawn  up,  signed  by  great  numbers  of  the 


CHARLES  I.       THE  LONG  PARLIAMENT.       269 

Scots,  binding  themselves  to  resist  all  efforts  to  interfere 
with  their  religion.  Charles  offered  some  concessions, 
but,  as  usual,  was  too  late,  and  only  succeeded  in  show- 
ing his  weakness.  The  next  year  (1638),  in  a  general 
assembly  which  met  at  Glasgow,  Episcopacy,  the  Court 
of  High  Commission  in  Scotland,  and  the  Liturgy  were 
all  abolished  at  a  single  stroke,  every  one  being  required 
to  sign  the  covenant  or  be  turned  out  of  the  church.* 

So  matters  wore  along  until  the  year  1640,  when 
Charles,  having  exhausted  his  resources,t  was  obliged  to 
summon  a  Parliament,  after  an  interval  of  eleven  years. 
He  made  his  demand  at  once  for  supplies,  but  the  tire- 
some Commons  declined  to  consider  that  question  until 
they  had  talked  over  their  "grievances."  They  dis- 
cussed illegal  imprisonments,  ship-money,  tonnage  and 
poundage,  and  various  other  things;  and  there  is  no 
knowing  to  what  length  their  perversity  would  have  car- 
ried them,  if  the  king  had  not  tried  his  old  remedy  and 
dissolved  the  Parliament  after  a  session  of  three  weeks. 

It  was  a  foolish  thing  to  do,  and  Charles  knew  this  as 
soon  as  he  had  done  it.  The  ill-feeling  against  his  two 
ministers  was  increasing  every  day.  Laud  was  consid- 
ered no  better  than  a  papist.  In  his  zeal,  he  had  restored 
many  of  those  forms  and  practices  of  the  Romish  Church 
which  were  most  abhorrent  to  the  Puritans.  Crucifixes, 
vestments,  genuflexions,  all  that  belonged  to  an  elab- 
orate ritual,t  were  things  without  which,  in  his  mind,  re- 

*  See  Sir  Walter  Scott's  novel,  "A  Legend  of  Montrose"  for  ref- 
erences to  the  condition  of  Scotland  at  this  time. 

•(•Pronounced  resources;  accent  on  the  second  syllable. 

I  In  regard  to  Scotland  he  remarked,  ' '  They  have  no  religion 
there,  that  I  can  see  ! " 


270  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

ligion  could  not  be;  and  he  went  so  far  that  the  pope 
had  privately  offered  to  make  him  a  cardinal  if  he  wished 
to  become  reconciled  to  the  Church  of  Rome.  But  he 
had  no  such  wish ;  he  simply  desired  to  establish  the 
ritual  of  the  Church  of  England  as  he  thought  it  ought 
to  be,  and  then  force  every  man,  woman,  and  child  in 
the  British  dominions  to  conform  to  it.  Wentworth,  now 
created  Earl  of  Strafford,  was  a  tyrant  at  heart;  and  all 
the  authors  of  "The  Thorough"  were  riding  post-haste 
to  their  own  destruction. 

On  November  3d,  1640,  Charles  called  together  his 
last  Parliament.  As  it  sat  for  thirteen  years,  it  is  called 
in  history,  "  The  Long  Parliament."  Its  first  business 
was  to  send  for  the  poor  wretches  who  were  still  pining 
under  sentences  from  the  Star-  Chamber  and  the  Court 
of  High  Commission.  Dr.  Leighton,  a  clergyman  of 
the  Church  of  Scotland,  who  had  dared  to  write  against 
prelacy,  and  who  had  now  passed  ten  years  of  his  life- 
sentence  in  prison,  was  brought  to  London.  He  had 
been  whipped,  pilloried,  had  his  ears  cut  off  and  each 
side  of  his  nose  slit,  and  was  branded  on  each  cheek. 
Mutilated,  deaf,  and  blind,  he  was  set  at  liberty,  and  re- 
ceived some  compensation  in  money.  William  Prynne,  a 
zealous  Puritan  writer,  had  put  forth  a  book  against  the 
stage,  and  as  Queen  Henrietta  Maria  was  very  fond  of 
the  theatre,  this  book  was  taken  as  an  insult  to  her.  He 
too  had  lost  his  ears  and  was  serving  a  life-sentence  in 
prison  when  a  decree  of  Parliament  released  him.  The 
Commons  then  condemned,  under  the  name  of  "Delin- 
quents," all  who  had  been  in  any  way  employed  in  car- 
rying out  illegal  acts,  and  Laud  and  Strafford  were  thrown 
into  the  Tower  on  the  charge  of  treason.  Before  their 


CHARLES  I.       THE  LONG  PARLIAMENT.       271 

trial  came  on,  Parliament  passed  a  law  to  abolish  all 
images,  altars,  and  crucifixes,  in  consequence  of  which 
Edward  I.'s  beautiful  Charing  Cross  was  torn  down, 
and  also  the  gilded  one  in  Cheapside.  The  order 
was  carried  out  so  ruthlessly  that  many  things  were 
destroyed  beside  the  crosses,  and  we  miss  much  lovely 
stained  glass  and  exquisite  carving,  the  fruit  of  years 
of  labor  on  the  part  of  those  who  thought  they  were 
serving  God. 

While  this  was  going  on,  Stafford's  case  was  taken  up. 
As  there  was  some  difficulty  in  proving  the  charges 
against  him,  the  impeachment  was  changed  to  a  bill  of 
attainder,  where  the  charge  does  not  need  to  be  proved, 
but  is  passed,  like  any  other  law,  by  the  Lords  and  Com- 
mons, the  king  giving  his  consent.  Pym,  the  leading 
orator  of  the  House  of  Commons,  brought  forward  the 
charge  against  Strafford,  who  defended  himself  with  great 
ability,  but  was  condemned,  as  had  been  intended  from 
the  beginning.  Strafford  wrote  a  letter  to  the  king,  gen- 
erously bidding  him  consent  to.  his  death,  if  by  so  doing 
he  could  make  matters  easier  for  himself;  and  Charles, 
always  weak  where  he  should  have  been  firm,  and  ob- 
stinate where  he  should  have  yielded,  basely  gave  his 
assent  to  the  execution. 

Strafford  had  not  expected  that  the  king  would  take 
him  at  his  word,  and  exclaimed  bitterly,  "  Put  not  your 
trust  in  princes  !"  but  he  met  his  fate  with  dignity  and 
composure.  An  eye-witness  says  that  he  walked  to  the 
scaffold  with  the  step  and  manner  of  a  general  marching 
at  the  head  of  an  army,  rather  than  the  demeanor  of  a 
condemned  criminal.  As  he  passed  the  window  of  the 
room  where  Land  was  confined,  he  knelt  down  and  asked 


272  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

his  blessing.  The  archbishop  was  kept  four  years  in 
prison  before  he  followed  his  friend  to  the  block. 

On  the  same  day  with  the  order  for  Strafford's  execu- 
tion, the  king  signed  the  most  important  bill  of  the  ses- 
sion; namely,  one  stating  that  Parliament  should  not  from 
that  time  forth  be  dissolved  nor  adjourned  without  its 
own  consent,  and  that  the  king  was  bound  to  call  it 
together  at  least  once  in  three  years.  The  Star- Cham- 
ber and  the  Court  of  High  Commission  were  abolished; 
and  the  Houses,  feeling  that  they  had  done  enough  for 
one  session,  adjourned. 

A  frightful  rebellion  now  broke  out  in  Ireland,  where 
the  natives  were  joined  by  the  "English  of  the  Pale,"* 
and  excesses  committed  too  horrible  to  tell.  The  king 
was  accused  of  encouraging  this  rebellion  in  order  that 
he  might  raise  money  to  quell  it,  and  though  this  seems 
impossible  to  believe,  Charles's  faithlessness  and  insin- 
cerity were  so  well  known  that  the  Commons  paid  no 
attention  to  his  denial.  They  framed  a  "  Remonstrance," 
setting  forth  his  illegal  measures  and  his  various  acts  of 
tyranny,  and  brought  out  the  fact  that  unless  some  means 
could  be  devised  for  putting  an  end  to  them,  their  liberty 
would  be  a  thing  of  the  past.  There  was  a  tremendous 
opposition  to  the  measure.  For  twelve  hours  the  debate 
lasted,  and,  for  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  Parliament, 
lights  were  brought  in  while  it  was  in  session.  Mem- 
bers on  both  sides  drew  their  swords,  and  only  the  good 
management  of  Hampden  kept  the  peace.  At  midnight 

*  "The  Pale"  was  a  district  in  the  eastern  part  of  Ireland  which 
had  been  occupied  by  English  settlers  for  hundreds  of  years.  The 
inhabitants  were  Catholics,  and  were  more  in  sympathy  with  the 
Irish  than  with  their  English  masters. 


CIVIL   WAR.      MARS  TON  MOOR.      NASEBY.     273 

the  Remonstrance  was  passed  by  a  small  majority,  and 
the  next  day  copies  of  it  were  sent  all  over  England. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

CIVIL  WAR.       MARSTON  MOOR.       NASEBY. 

lARLIAMENT  was  now  divided  into  two  dis- 
tinct parties,  one  for  and  one  against  the  king. 
If  he  could  even  then  have  followed  a  straight- 
forward course,  and  given  up  his  idea  of  "divine  right," 
all  might  have  gone  smoothly  again;  but  such  a  course 
was  impossible  to  him.  His  one  idea  was  to  be  able  to 
rule  without  interference,  and  he  seemed  to  learn  nothing 
from  experience. 

While  public  feeling  was  in  an  excited  and  irritable 
state,  the  king  ventured  on  a  step  which  threw  all  his 
previous  indiscretions  into  the  shade.  Accusing  of  high- 
treason  five  members  of  the  House  of  Commons,  includ- 
ing Hampden  and  Pym,  and  one  of  the  Upper  House, 
Lord  Kimbolton,  he  sent  a  sergeant-at-arms  to  the  Com- 
mons, demanding  that  the  five  members  should  be  de- 
livered into  his  custody.  The  members  were  in  their 
seats,  but  remained  silent  when  called  upon,  and  the 
speaker  ordered  the  officer  to  withdraw.  The  next  day 
the  king  came  himself  and  demanded  the  five  members, 
who  had,  by  direction  of  the  House,  absented  themselves. 
Charles  asked  where  they  were.  The  speaker,  Lenthall, 
fell  on  his  knees,  saying  that  he  had  no  eyes  to  see  nor 
tongue  to  speak  but  as  the  House  commanded  him. 
"Well,"  said  the  king  good-humoredly,  looking  round  the 
18 


274  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

House,  "I  see  the  birds  are  flown,  but  I  expect  you  to 
send  them  to  me  as  soon  as  they  return."  As  he  passed 
out  he  heard  cries  of  "Privilege !  Privilege !"  which  meant 
that  he  was  infringing  upon  the  rights  of  the  members. 
On  cooler  reflection,  Charles  felt  that  he  had  gone  too 
far.  He  made  an  apology  to  the  House  and  withdrew 
his  charges  against  the  members,  but  he  could  not  calm 
the  excitement  he  had  raised. 

The  Commons  seized  the  magazine  at  Hull,  and  took 
possession  of  the  Tower  of  London.  They  also  passed 
a  bill  assuming  entire  control  of  the  militia.  This  the 
king  refused  to  sign,  and  both  sides  prepared  for  war. 

The  enthusiasm  for  the  Parliament,  among  its  sup- 
porters, was  unbounded.  Money  poured  in  for  the  rais- 
ing of  troops.  Immense  quantities  of  plate  were  sent  to 
be  melted  up,  and  so  many  small  articles  of  personal  use 
were  contributed  that  it  was  called  in  derision  "the 
thimble  and  bodkin  war."  The  queen  raised  some 
money  in  Holland  by  selling  her  jewels,  and  the  Royal- 
ists were  not  behindhand  in  making  sacrifices.  All  felt 
that  the  country  was  preparing  for  a  momentous  struggle. 

The  difference  between  the  two  parties  now  grew 
more  marked  than  ever.  Those  on  the  king's  side  took 
the  name  of  Cavaliers,  while  those  belonging  to  the 
Parliament  were  called  Roundheads,  because  they  gener- 
ally wore  their  hair  cropped  close.  Most  of  the  nobility 
were  royalists,  though  the  Earl  of  Essex  (son  of  Eliza- 
beth's favorite)  was  made  general  of  the  Parliamentary 
forces.  Having  collected  as  many  men  as  he  could, 
Charles  set  up  his  royal  standard  at  Nottingham  (1642). 

Prince  Rupert  (son  of  Charles's  sister  and  the  Elector 
Palatine)  began  the  war  by  routing  a  small  body  of  Par- 


CIVIL  WAR.      MARSTON  MOOR.      NASEBY.     275 

liamentary  cavalry  at  Worcester.  The  first  general  battle 
was  an  indecisive  one  at  Edgehill,  where  the  Earl  of 
Lindsey,  the  royal  general,  was  mortally  wounded.  In 
a  battle  at  Chalgrove  Field  (1643),  otherwise  unim- 
portant, the  Parliamentary  party  lost  the  great  patriot 
Hampden,  who  was  deeply  regretted  by  both  sides.  His 
moderation  and  tact  were  invaluable  in  such  a  struggle ; 
and,  had  he  lived,  might  have  changed  the  issue  of  the 
war.*  On  the  king's  side  a  loss  almost  equally  great 
was  that  of  Lord  Falkland,  who  was  killed  at  Newbury. 
Several  other  battles  were  fought  this  year,  gained 
mostly  by  the  Royalists,  who  were  far  superior  to  their 
opponents  in  military  experience  and  training.  The 
Parliamentary  army,  as  yet,  was  made  up  largely  of  the 
enthusiastic  but  untrained  rabble,  and  had  little  of  that 
material  which  afterward  made  them  invincible.  By  the 
efforts  of  Sir  Henry  Vane  (the  younger)  an  alliance  was 
entered  into  with  the  Scots,  by  which  their  "Solemn 
League  and  Covenant"  to  fight  to  the  death  against 
popery,  prelacy  (by  which  they  meant  the  Church  of 
England),  superstition,  and  profanity,  was  made  equally 
binding  on  the  English.  The  House  of  Commons  in 
England  swore  to  observe  this  agreement,  and  the  name 
"Covenanter"  became  a  party  watch- word,  binding  the 
subscribers  to  one  another  as  with  bonds  of  steel. 

All  this  time  there  had  been  serving  in  the  Parliamen- 
tary army  a  man  who,  though  as  yet  undistinguished,  was 
destined  to  play  a  more  important  part  in  England  than 
any  other  man  has  ever  filled  there.  This  was  Oliver 

*  A  locket  was  found  on  Hampden's  body,  inscribed : 
"Not  against  the  King  I  fight, 
T&nt/or  the  King  and  country's  right." 


276  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

Cromwell,  a  plain  country  gentleman,  who  had  begun  his 
public  life  in  the  Parliament  of  1628.  His  rustic  air  and 
ill-fitting  clothes  caused  some  of  the  members  to  look  on 
him  with  contempt,  and  one  of  them  asked  Hampden, 
"Who  is  that  sloven?"  Hampden  told  him,  adding,  "If 
we  should  ever  come  to  a  breach  with  the  king,  that 
sloven  will  be  the  greatest  man  in  England."  Cromwell 
was  Hampden's  cousin,  and  the  two  men  had  formed  a 
plan  of  settling  in  America.  It  is  said  that  they  had 
actually  embarked,  but  were  forced  back  by  an  order  of 
council.  Cromwell  was  a  man  of  an  intensely  religious 
spirit  and  a  wonderful  power  of  influencing  other  men. 
He  soon  gained  such  an  ascendency  over  the  solid  men 
of  his  own  party  that  great  numbers  of  them  entered  the 
army,  giving  it  a  character  of  dignity  which  it  had  here- 
tofore lacked.  Cromwell  had  entered  it  as  a  colonel  of 
cavalry,  and  had  drilled  his  regiment  until  his  men  re- 
ceived and  deserved  their  name  of  "Ironsides."  These 
Ironsides  were  all  "men  of  religion."  If  they  were  not 
so  before,  they  caught  the  spirit  of  their  surroundings  and 
became  as  ardent  in  devotion  as  they  had  before  been  in 
dissipation.  "They  are  a  lovely  company,"  Cromwell 
says.  "Not  a  man  swears  but  he  pays  his  twelve  pence." 
No  drunkenness  was  allowed,  nor  any  of  the  other  vices 
to  which  soldiers  are  addicted;  their  recreation  consisted 
in  listening  to  a  godly  discourse,  and  when  they  fought, 
they  felt  that  "the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  was  upon  them." 
If  any  man  proved  himself  unworthy  of  belonging  to 
such  a  body,  or  was  not  amenable  to  discipline,  he  was 
dismissed  at  once.  "A  few  honest  men  are  better  than 
numbers,"  said  Cromwell.  In  the  same  letter  he  writes, 
"I  had  rather  have  a  plain  russet-coated  captain  that 


CIVIL  WAR.      MARSTON  MOOR.      NASEBY.     277 

knows  what  he  fights  for  and  loves  what  he  knows,  than 
that  which  you  call  'a  gentleman'  and  is  nothing  else.  I 
honor  a.  gentleman  that  is  so  indeed  !" 

Charles  was  daily  losing  ground.  Prince  Rupert,  a 
brave  but  rash  young  soldier,  insisted  upon  giving  battle 
to  the  enemy  at  Marston  Moor,  contrary  to  the  advice  cf 
the  Marquis  of  Newcastle,  his  superior  in  command. 
Here  the  royal  army  was  completely  routed,  chiefly  by 
means  of  Cromwell  and  his  Ironsides.  "God  made  them 
as  stubble  to  our  swords,"  he  wrote  to  a  friend  the  same 
evening.  Newcastle,  in  disgust,  abandoned  the  king's 
cause  and  left  the  country. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  divisions  in  the  Parliamentary 
party  itself  had  now  become  fatal  to  any  unity  of  action. 
At  first,  those  who  differed  from  the  Established  Church 
were  mostly  Presbyterians,  but  the  sect  called  Independ- 
ents, to  which  Cromwell  belonged,  was  rapidly  advancing 
in  power  and  influence.  A  part  of  them  wished  to  abolish 
both  monarchy  and  aristocracy,  from  which  they  took  the 
name  of  "Root -and -Branch"  men.  Cromwell,  wishing 
to  get  rid  of  certain  influential  members  of  Parliament, 
induced  it  to  pass  a  so-called  "Self-denying  Ordinance," 
making  it  impossible  to  hold  a  seat  in  Parliament  and  a 
position  in  the  army  at  the  same  time.  Acting  upon  this, 
many  of  the  members  resigned  their  commands  in  the 
army,  though  an  exception  was  made  in  Cromwell's  favor. 

He  now  set  himself  about  raising  the  whole  army  to 
the  standard  of  his  own  Ironsides.  What  he  called  "The 
New  Model"  was  introduced  into  it,  maintained  by  a 
rigorous  discipline  and  inspired  by  a  religious  zeal  and 
fervor  never  equalled  in  history.  Each  officer  was  a 
chaplain;  the  soldiers  spent  their  spare  hours  in  prayer 


278  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

and  in  the  study  of  the  Scriptures,  and  in  their  talks  to- 
gether discussed  the  state  of  their  souls  and  encouraged 
one  another  to  greater  zeal.  They  marched  to  battle 
singing  hymns  to  the  accompaniment  of  military  bands. 

The  greatest  battle  of  the  war  was  fought  at  Naseby, 
where  the  king  commanded  in  person  (June,  1645)  ano< 
was  defeated  by  Cromwell.  During  all  this  time  efforts 
were  made  to  treat  with  Charles,  but  his  habitual  dupli- 
city made  any  arrangement  impossible.  At  Naseby  his 
cabinet  was  taken,  where  letters  were  found  more  dam- 
aging than  the  loss  of  a  battle.  He  was  discovered  to 
have  been  asking  for  soldiers  from  abroad,  in  spite  of  his 
most  solemn  assurances  to  the  contrary;  his  statements 
to  the  queen  were  exactly  opposite  to  those  he  made  to 
his  enemies,  and  he  boasted  of  how  well  he  had  been 
able  to  deceive  the  Parliament,  and  how  he  would  crush 
out  all  opposition  when  the  power  was  in  his  own  hands 
again.  At  length,  hopeless  of  making  terms  with  them, 
he  fled  to  Newark  and  put  himself  under  the  protection 
of  the  Scots,  who  were  encamped  at  that  place.  They 
required  him  to  sign  orders  to  give  up  to  them  all  the 
castles  still  occupied  by  his  troops,  and  after  a  short  in- 
terval they  made  an  agreement  with  the  English  Parlia- 
ment to  deliver  him  into  their  hands,  on  payment  of  a 
sum  of  money  due  to  them  for  the  expenses  of  the  war. 
The  Scots  tried  to  take  away  from  this  transaction  the 
appearance  of  a  sale,  but  the  verdict  of  history  is  against 
them,  and  as  a  sale  it  will  be  handed  down  to  posterity. 

"I  am  sold  and  bought,"  said  the  king,  when  the  two 
hundred  cases  of  silver  which  sealed  the  bargain  made 
their  appearance  in  the  Scottish  camp. 

By  this  time  the  most  bitter  feeling  had  arisen  between 


CIVIL  WAR.       MARSTON  MOOR.      NASEBY.     279 

the  Parliament  and  the  army — in  other  words,  between 
the  Presbyterians  and  the  Independents.  Their  hatred 
of  each  other  was  quite  as  great  as  that  which  each  felt 
toward  the  "  Malignants,"  by  which  name  Cromwell's 
party  called  all  Royalists  who  had  taken  part  in  the  war. 
The  Parliament  had  the  king  in  charge;  the  army  wanted 
him;  and  one  Cornet  Joyce  appeared  suddenly  before 
him  at  Holmby  House  with  a  band  of  troopers  at  his 
back,  and  told  Charles  he  must  go  with  him.  "Where 
is  your  warrant?"  asked  the  king.  "There!"  said  Joyce, 
pointing  down  into  the  court-yard,  where  four  hundred 
soldiers  were  drawn  up.  "It  is  written  in  very  legible 
characters,"  answered  the  king,  and  made  no  resistance. 
The  Parliament  threatened  violence  when  they  found 
they  had  been  outwitted,  but  Cromwell  marched  his 
whole  army  through  London,  and  things  quieted  down 
directly.  The  king  was  now  removed  to  Hampton  Court 
Palace,  where  he  enjoyed  much  freedom,  but  fearing  that 
harm  was  intended  him,  he  fled  secretly  to  the  Isle  of 
Wight,  where  he  was  kindly  received  by  the  governor, 
and  lodged  in  Carisbrook  Castle. 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 
PRIDE'S  PURGE.    EXECUTION  OF  CHARLES  i.    DUNBAR 

AND   WORCESTER. 

I  HE  Parliament  made  one  more  effort  to  treat 
with  Charles,  and  offered  terms  which  seemed 
impossible  for  him  to  reject;  but  being  then 
engaged  in  secret  negotiations  with  the  Scots  he  refused 


280  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

these,  and  lost  his  last  chance.  They  then  voted  that  no- 
further  address  should  be  made  to  him.  After  a  short 
sojourn  in  Newport  (Isle  of  Wight)  during  which  still 
more  evidences  of  his  duplicity  were  discovered,  he  was 
removed  to  Hurst  Castle,  a  gloomy  fortress  on  the  Sussex 
coast,  where  he  anticipated  the  fate  of  Edward  II.  at 
Berkeley  and  Richard  II.  at  Pontefract.  But  assassina- 
tion had  gone  out  of  date  in  England;  and  when  he 
hinted  his  fears  to  his  guards  they  told  him  that  whatever 
the  Parliament  did  would  be  "very  public,  and  in  a  way 
of  justice  to  which  the  world  should  be  witness."  It  is  a 
curious  proof  of  the  strength  of  loyal  feeling  even  as  late 
as  this,  that  while  Cromwell  was  away  fighting  the  Scots, 
who  were  in  arms  for  the  king,  Parliament  reconsidered 
its  former  vote  and  decided  to  send  further  propositions 
to  him.  The  army,  however,  interfered,  and  a  council  of 
officers  sent  Col.  Pride  (formerly  a  drayman)  with  two 
regiments  of  soldiers  to  the  Parliament  House  to  turn 
out  all  members  in  favor  of  treating  with  the  king.  This 
expulsion  went  on  until  a  hundred  and  forty  of  them  had 
been  sent  off,  and  none  remained  except  about  fifty  Inde- 
pendents, who  could  be  relied  on  to  execute  the  orders 
of  the  army  (December,  1648).  This  high-handed  action 
was  popularly  called  "Pride's  Purge,"  the  body  left  as 
a  Parliament  receiving  the  name  of  "The  Rump." 

Cromwell  returned  while  the  "clearance"  was  going 
on;  he  said  he  did  not  know  of  it,  but  was  glad  it  had 
been  done.  The  remnant  of  the  Commons  next  voted 
that  it  was  treason  in  the  king  to  make  war  on  the  Par- 
liament, and  that  he  should  be  tried  for  this  offence. 
The  House  of  Lords,  now  reduced  to  twelve  members, 
not  wishing  to  join  in  this  vote,  took  a  recess,  hoping  to 


EXECUTION  OF  CHARLES  I.  281 

prevent  it;  but  the  Commons  declared  that,  the  people 
being  the  origin  of  all  just  power,  the  Commons  of  Eng- 
land are  the  superior  authority  of  the  nation,  and  that 
whatever  is  enacted  by  them  has  the  force  of  law  with- 
out the  consent  of  the  king  or  the  House  of  Peers. 

In  pursuance  of  this  statement,  the  "Rump"  appointed 
a  High  Court  of  Justice  for  the  trial  of  the  king,  of  which 
John  Bradshaw  was  president,  Cromwell,  Ireton,  and  the 
chief  officers  of  the  army  being  members  of  it.  The 
judges  had  also  been  appointed  to  serve  on  this  court, 
but  as  they  said  the  proceeding  was  contrary  to  law, 
they  were  excused  from  taking  part  in  it. 

The  king,  after  leaving  Hurst  Castle,  was  brought  to 
London  by  General  Harrison,  one  of  the  most  violent  of 
the  Republican  leaders,  and  lodged  in  the  palace  of 
Whitehall.  The  trial  took  place  in  Westminster  Hall; 
the  same  room  which  had  seen  the  dethronement  of 
Richard  II.,  the  condemnation  of  Sir  Thomas  More,  of 
the  Protector  Somerset,  and  of  Lord  Strafford;  the  same 
noble  building  which,  divested  of  its  judicial  furniture, 
now  forms  the  entrance  to  the  Houses  of  Parliament. 
The  court  consisted  of  one  hundred  and  thirty-five  per- 
sons, but  there  were  never  more  than  seventy  present  at 
any  one  sitting. 

The  king,  who  had  come  from  the  palace  in  a  sedan- 
chair,  was  escorted  in  by  the  sergeant -at -arms,  and  took 
his  place  in  the  seat  set  for  him  opposite  the  judges.  He 
did  not  remove  his  hat,  and  the  sixty -nine  judges  kept  on 
theirs  without  rising  from  their  seats.  When  addressed 
as  Charles  Stuart,  King  of  England,  and  asked  for  his 
answer  to  the  charge  of  being  a  tyrant,  a  traitor,  and  a 
murderer,  the  king  denied  the  jurisdiction  of  the  court 


282  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

and  refused  to  plead  before  it.  This  continued  for  three 
days.  Then  some  witnesses  were  examined  who  testified 
that  he  had  borne  arms  against  the  Parliament,  and 
sentence  of  death  was  pronounced  Jan.  27,  1648-49.* 

Only  two  of  Charles's  children  were  still  in  England; 
Elizabeth,  aged  twelve  years,  and  Henry,  aged  nine. 
These  were  allowed  to  take  leave  of  him,  on  the  day 
before  his  death.  The  young  girl  remained  a  prisoner 
in  the  hands  of  the  Republicans.  She  pined  away,  and 
-died  the  next  year  of  a  slight  illness.  The  son  was  af- 
terward sent  to  his  mother  in  France,  but  did  not 
live  to  grow  up. 

The  execution  was  appointed  for  Jan.  3oth,  1648-9, 
at  two  in  the  afternoon.  A  scaffold  was  erected  outside 
the  window  of  the  banqueting-room  of  the  palace  of 
Whitehall,  and  out  of  this  the  king  walked  firmly,  after 
spending  several  hours  in  devotion.  He  had  meant  to 
speak  to  the  people,  but  seeing  that  none  but  soldiers 
were  within  hearing,  he  addressed  himself  to  the  few 
friends  who  were  on  the  scaffold  with  him.  Consistent 
to  the  last,  he  said  that  his  people  mistook  the  nature 
of  government;  that  people  are  free,  not  by  having  a 
share  in  the  government,  but  by  assisting  in  its  admin- 
istration. Bishop  Juxon,  his  old  friend,  attended  him. 
The  king  gave  him  his  "George"  t  with  the  single  word 
"Remember!"  He  then  knelt  in  prayer  for  a  few  min- 
utes, and  gave  the  signal  to  the  executioner  by  stretch- 
ing out  his  hand.  His  head  was  severed  at  one  blow, 
and  when  the  masked  executioner  held  up  the  "gray, 

*This  date  was  then  called  1648,  as  the  year  began  on  the  25th 
of  April  instead  of  the  ist  of  January,  as  at  present. 
t  A  decoration  belonging  to  the  Order  of  the  Garter. 


EXECUTION  OF  CHARLES  I.  283 

discrowned  head"  with  the  usual  formula,  "This  is  the 
head  of  a  traitor!"  a  deep  groan  burst  from  the  crowd 
around  instead  of  the  expected  cheers.* 

Charles  Stuart  died  in  the  forty-ninth  year  of  his  age 
and  the  twenty-fourth  of  his  reign. 

No  event  in  English  history  has  been  the  subject  of 
so  much  discussion  as  the  judicial  death  of  Charles  the 
First.  To  the  loyalists  it  was  a  deliberate  murder;  to 
the  opposite  party,  a  patriotic  necessity.  It  was  brought 
about  by  means  as  clearly  illegal  as  any  thing  Charles 
had  done;  but  those  who  did  it  justified  themselves  on 
the  ground  of  political  necessity.  It  could  not  have 
happened  in  a  later  age;  coming  when  it  did  it  is  gen- 
erally considered  a  benefit  to  the  cause  of  liberty. 

In  his  private  life  Charles  I.  was  blameless.  He  was 
thoroughly  refined,  had  a  fine  taste  in  literature,  and  was 
a  generous  patron  of  art.  In  all  but  his  public  dealings 
he  was  scrupulously  honorable  and  gentlemanly.  His 
false  notions  of  the  rights  and  duties  of  a  king  made 
him  unfit  to  be  one;  while  his  habitual  indecision  pre- 
vented him  from  taking  advantage  of  circumstances  when 
they  were  favorable  to  him.  Added  to  this,  his  absolute 
inability  to  speak  the  truth  in  political  matters,  took 
away  his  last  chance  of  regaining  his  hold  upon  the 
affections  of  his  people. 

The  death  of  the  king  made  a  re-organization  of  the 

*Andrew  Marvell,  the  friend  of  Cromwell  and  Charles's  political 
«nemy,  who  was  looking  from  a  window  at  the  time,  wrote, 
"He  nothing  common  did,  or  mean 
Upon  that  memorable  scene; 
But  laid  his  comely  head 
Down,  as  upon  a  bed." 


284  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

government  necessary.  It  was  declared  treason  to  ac- 
knowledge Charles  Stuart  (his  son)  as  King  of  England, 
and  a  new  seal  was  engraved  with  the  motto,  "  The  first 
year  of  freedom  by  God's  blessing  restored,  1648."  No 
name  was  formally  given  to  the  new  government,  but  it 
is  generally  called  "The  Commonwealth."  All  public 
business  was  done  in  the  awkward  name  of  "The  Keepers 
of  the  Liberties  of  England."  The  House  of  Lords  was 
abolished  at  the  same  time,  as  being  "useless  and  dan- 
gerous." A  Council  of  State  composed  of  forty-one 
members,  with  Bradshaw  as  president,  was  next  ap- 
pointed; but  the  real  power  naturally  remained  with 
Cromwell.  His  brother-in-law,  Desborough,  and  his 
sons-in-law,  Ireton  and  Fleetvvood,  held  important  com- 
mands in  the  army.  John  Milton,  the  poet,  was  ap- 
pointed Latin  Secretary  to  the  government.  He  had 
come  back  from  his  travels  in  Italy  on  account  of  the 
Civil  War,  and  had  already  written  some  political  works, 
and  his  poem  of  "Lycidas,"  which  reflected  severely  on 
the  Established  Church.  Among  other  writers  of  the 
royalist  period  were  George  Herbert  and  Francis  Quarles, 
religious  poets;  Sir  John  Suckling  and  Richard  Lovelace, 
song  writers,  Isaac  Walton  and  Sir  Thomas  Browne, 
essayists.  Thomas  Fuller,  the  Church  historian,  also- 
lived  at  this  period. 

The  new  government  did  not  at  first  go  on  very  har- 
moniously. More  than  half  the  Council  refused  to  sign 
the  required  declaration  that  they  approved  of  what  had 
been  done,  and  it  was  not  until  after  violent  disputes 
that  this  was  dispensed  with.  Several  of  the  principal 
royalist  generals  were  beheaded,  as  were  also  the  ring- 
leaders of  a  set  called  "Levellers,"  a  sort  of  Socialists. 


EXECUTION  OF  CHARLES  I.  285 

The  chief  resistance  came  from  Scotland  and  Ireland. 
Presbyterians  and  Catholics  were  alike  opposed  to  the 
Independents,  who  were  now  at  the  head  of  English 
affairs,  and  Charles  II.  was  proclaimed  in  both  countries. 
Cromwell  went  at  once  to  Ireland,  and  by  a  succession 
of  merciless  slaughters  reduced  that  country  to  obedi- 
ence. He  next  proceeded  to  Scotland,  where  the  loyal- 
ists had  met  with  a  severe  loss  in  the  death  of  the  Mar- 
quis of  Montrose.  He  was  betrayed  by  a  pretended 
friend  and  taken  prisoner  to  Edinburgh,  where  he  was 
hanged  with  every  circumstance  of  insult  that  vindictive- 
ness  could  devise.*  Charles  II.  (we  will  call  him  so  to 
distinguish  him,  though  it  was  ten  years  before  he  re- 
ceived that  title  in  England)  landed  in  Scotland  soon 
afterward,  and  was  obliged,  in  order  to  be  recognized  as 
king,  to  sign  the  covenant,  and  profess  many  things  which 
he  did  not  believe.  Cromwell  met  the  Scottish  army 
near  Dunbar.  Their  number  amounted  to  double  that 
of  his  own,  and  his  position  was  a  very  dangerous  one. 
They  advanced  on  him  rashly,  and  were  badly  beaten 
Sept.  3,  1650.  Edinburgh  surrendered  soon  afterward. 

Charles  II.  was  crowned  King  of  Scotland,  at  Scone, 
as  his  ancestors  had  been,  but  he  and  his  subjects  did 
not  get  on  well  together.  They  preached  at  him  a  great 
deal,  and  required  him  to  pursue  a  most  distasteful  way 
of  life;  so,  seizing  his  opportunity,  he  gathered  an  army 
hastily  together  and  marched  into  England,  expecting 
that  the  Royalists  there  would  join  him.  In  this  he  was 
disappointed.  Cromwell  pursued  him  and  overtook  him 
at  Worcester,  where,  after  a  sharp  fight  of  five  hours,  the 

*See  the  beautiful  poem  entitled  "The  Execution  of  Montrose," 
in  Aytoun's  "Lays  of  the  Scottish  Cavaliers." 


286  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

royal  army  broke  and  fled  (Sept.  3,  1651).  This  battle 
Cromwell  called  his  "crowning  mercy."  The  Scottish 
army  of  about  14,000  men  were  either  killed  or  taken 
prisoners.  Of  the  captives,  1500  were  sold  as  slaves  to 
the  West  Indies.  The  king  left  his  companions  without 
notice,  and,  accompanied  by  one  faithful  friend,  Col. 
Carless,  took  refuge  at  Boscobel,  a  lonely  farm-house 
owned  by  a  man  named  Penderell.  This  man  received 
the  wanderers  with  the  greatest  kindness,  dressed  them 
in  his  own  and  his  brother's  clothes  and  protected  them 
for  several  days.  Charles  spent  one  night  concealed 
among  the  boughs  of  an  oak  tree,  which  might  be  still 
standing  if  it  had  not  been  cut  down  by  tourists.  It 
was  called  "The  Royal  Oak,"  and  was  long  shown  with 
veneration  to  travellers.  The  prince  had  all  sorts  of 
adventures.  At  one  time  he  acted  as  the  servant  of 
Jane  Lane,  a  young  lady  who  rode  many  miles  behind 
him  on  a  pillion,  to  bring  him  to  safe  quarters.  At  last 
he  joined  his  mother  in  Paris. 

Under  Cromwell's  vigorous  and  wise  government,  alt 
prospered  with  England.  Ireton  finished  the  conquest 
of  Ireland,  Monk  that  of  Scotland;  Robert  Blake,  the 
great  admiral,  captured  a  Portuguese  fleet  of  richly-laden, 
vessels,  because  the  Portuguese  had  been  helping  Prince 
Rupert.  The  "Channel  Islands,"*  the  Scilly  Islands  and 
the  Isle  of  Man,  which  held  out  for  the  king,  were  all 
subdued,  the  last  named  being  defended  by  the  heroic 
Countess  of  Derby,  whose  husband  had  been  executed 
by  the  Parliament.t  The  English  also  had  trouble  with 
Holland,  and  to  annoy  their  thriving  neighbor  they  passed 

*  Jersey,  Alderney,  etc.,  in  the  English  Channel  near  France, 
t  See  Sir  Walter  Scott's  novel,  "Peveril  of  the  Peak." 


EXECUTION   OF  CHARLES  I.  287 

the  famous  Navigation  Act,  by  which  all  nations  were 
forbidden  to  import  any  goods  into  England  except  in 
English  vessels  or  in  the  vessels  of  the  country  produc- 
ing the  goods.  As  the  Dutch  did  most  of  the  carrying 
trade  in  Europe,  this  was  very  offensive  to  them,  and 
the  two  countries  soon  drifted  into  a  war  in  which  the 
English  admiral  Blake  was  opposed  to  the  Dutch  ad- 
mirals, Van  Tromp  and  De  Ruyter.  They  fought  sev- 
eral battles,  with  various  success,  and  Van  Tromp  sailed 
about  with  a  broom  fastened  to  his  mast-head,  to  indi- 
cate that  he  was  going  to  sweep  the  English  from  the 
sea.  Thereupon  Blake  gathered  up  all  his  strength,  and 
defeated  him  in  a  three  days'  battle  off  Portland.  Van 
Tromp's  own  ship  escaped,  but  the  broom  came  down 
from  the  mast-head. 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

THE   PROTECTORATE.       THE   RESTORATION. 

{FTER  some  years,  Cromwell  became  dissatisfied 
with  the  Long  Parliament,  and  took  a  method 
peculiar  to  himself  of  putting  an  end  to 
it.  Dressed  in  his  usual  suit  of  plain  black  with  gray 
worsted  stockings,  he  took  three  hundred  soldiers  to  the 
Parliament  House,  and,  leaving  them  outside,  went  in 
and  sat  for  a  while,  listening  to  the  debate;  then  start- 
ing up  he  exclaimed,  "This  is  the  time!  I  must  do  it!" 
and  began  loading  the  members  with  abuse.  Sir  Peter 
Wentworth  answered  that  it  was  the  first  time  he  had 
ever  heard  such  language  used  in  Parliament,  and  was- 


288  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

going  on  when  Cromwell  interrupted  him  with,  "I  will 
put  an  end  to  your  prating.  Call  them  in !  call  them 
in!"  Then  stamping  his  feet  (which  was  the  signal  for 
the  soldiers  to  enter),  he  screamed  out,  "You  are  no 
longer  a  Parliament!  The  Lord  has  done  with  you! 
He  will  have  other  instruments  to  do  his  work!"  Two 
files  of  musketeers  entered  the  room,  upon  which  Sir 
Henry  Vane  said,  "This  is  not  honest.  Yea,  it  is 
against  common  morality."  "  Oh,  Sir  Harry  Vane !  Sir 
Harry  Vane!  The  Lord  deliver  me  from  Sir  Harry 
Vane!"  was  Cromwell's  only  reply.  Striding  up  to  the 
table  and  laying  his  hand  upon  the  mace,  he  cried  out, 
"What  shall  we  do  with  this  bauble?  Take  it  away!" 
The  speaker  declining  to  leave  the  chair,  Major  General 
Harrison  said  he  would  help  him,  and  pulled  him  down 
by  force.  Cromwell,  still  wrought  up  to  the  highest 
pitch  of  passion,  called  out  to  the  House,  "It  is  you  that 
have  forced  me  to  this !  I  have  sought  the  Lord  night 
and  day  that  He  would  rather  slay  me  than  put  me  upon 
this  work!"  When  his  soldiers  had  cleared  the  hall, 
Cromwell  locked  the  door,  put  the  key  in  his  pocket, 
and  marched  off  to  his  home  at  Whitehall.* 

The  Council  of  State  was  dismissed  in  the  same  sum- 
mary way.  "We  have  heard,"  said  Bradshaw,  the  pres- 
ident, "what  you  have  done  this  morning  at  the  House. 
But  you  mistake,  sir,  if  you  think  the  Parliament  dis- 
solved. No  power  on  earth  can  dissolve  the  Parliament 
but  itself!" 

The  Rump  had  been  so  much  disliked  by  the  people 
that  no  outcry  was  made  at  this  high-handed  measure, 

*  The  French  minister  wrote  home  that  there  was  now  written, 
on  the  Houses  of  Parliament,  "This  House  to  be  let,  unfurnished!" 


THE  PROTECTORATE.     THE  RESTORATION.    289 

especially  as  Cromwell,  having  the  whole  army  at  his 
back,  was  for  the  time  all-powerful. 

Choosing  to  keep  up  some  of  the  form  of  constitution- 
ality, he  now  summoned,  in  his  own  name,  a  hundred 
and  forty  persons,  from  all  parts  of  England,  to  frame  a 
new  Parliament.  There  was  no  pretence  of  an  election. 
All  sorts  of  people  were  assembled — Fifth  Monarchy 
men*  and  those  belonging  to  other  fanatical  sects — and 
these  gave  a  character  to  the  Parliament.  Among  the 
number  was  a  noisy  and  ignorant  man  named  Praise  God 
Barebone;  and  he  occupied  so  much  of  the  time  of  the 
sessions  with  long  prayers  and  speeches,  that  the  assem- 
bly was  called  in  derision,  "Barebone's  Parliament."  Its 
more  respectful  name  was,  "The  Little  Parliament." 

Big  or  little,  it  was  a  great  failure.  Its  counsels  were 
confused,  its  meetings  disorderly.  Having  passed  sev- 
eral bills  of  doubtful  wisdom,  it  crowned  its  operations, 
after  having  been  in  existence  five  months,  by  humbly 
surrendering  to  the  lord  general  the  powers  it  had  re- 
ceived from  him,  and  appointed  a  Council  of  State  which 
conferred  on  him  the  office  of  Lord  Protector  (1653). 
His  signature  was  like  that  of  a  king,  only  the  first  name 
being  used.  He  wrote  "Oliver  P."  (Protector)  as  the 
king  had  signed  "Charles  R."  (Rex).  His  unmarried 
daughters  were  called  the  Lady  Mary  and  the  Lady 
Francis  Cromwell,  and  both  married  into  noble  families. 

When  he  assumed  his  title  a  proclamation  was  issued 
by  Charles  II.  (who  was  wandering  about,  glad  to  be  pro- 
vided for  by  any  one  who  would  give  him  a  home),  which 

*  Persons  who  expected  a   kingdom  of  Christ   to  arise  which 
should  abolish  all  human  governments.     The  four  preceding  mon- 
archies had  been  the  Assyrian,  Persian,  Grecian,  and  Roman. 
19 


290  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

began:  "Whereas  a  certain  base  mechanic  fellow,  by 
name  Oliver  Cromwell,  has  usurped  our  throne," — and 
went  on  to  offer  a  pension  of  ^500  a  year  to  any  one 
who  should  take  his  life.  It  did  not  do  much  of  either 
good  or  harm. 

For  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  England  a  standing 
army  was  established,  which  was  to  be  entirely  under  the 
Protector's  control,  thus  enabling  him  to  form  a  military 
despotism  if  he  should  be  so  inclined.  All  churchmen,. 
Presbyterians,  and  Royalists,  were  excluded  from  the  Par- 
liament, and  no  one  could  be  elected  to  it  who  had  not 
an  estate  of  at  least  ^200.  Finding  that  the  first  he 
summoned  was  not  disposed  to  submit  blindly  to  his 
wishes,  Cromwell  dissolved  it  without  ceremony,  in  a 
storm  of  angry  reproach  (1655). 

After  this,  the  Protector  and  his  council  ruled  in  the 
most  arbitrary  manner,  levying  taxes  at  discretion  and 
imprisoning  persons  on  suspicion,  much  as  Charles  had 
done.  There  was  a  strict  censorship  of  the  press,*  and 
when  people  tried  to  obtain  their  rights  by  law,  their 
counsel  were  sent  1  j  the  Tower. 

It  was  a  very  moral  England  that  Cromwell  ruled  over. 
Drunkenness  and  vagrancy  were  suppressed,  though  not 
apparently  with  cruelty,  and  Sabbath -breaking  became 
very  difficult.  One  man  sat  in  the  stocks  for  three  hours 
for  going  to  a  neighboring  town  to  hear  a  sermon  on 
Easter -day  and  eating  milk  and  cream  with  some  other 
young  folks,  the  entertainment  costing  each  person  two 
pence.  A  tailor  is  punished  for  working  until  two  o'clock 
on  a  Saturday  night  so  as  to  finish  a  garment  for  some 

*  A  supervision  which  allows  nothing  to  be  published  without 
being  first  examined  and  sanctioned  by  the  government. 


THE  PROTECTORATE.     THE  RESTORATION.    291 

one  to  go  to  church  in.  Profane  swearing  was  followed 
by  some  hours  in  the  stocks,  and  one  could  not  say 
"Plague  take  you"  without  being  fined  for  it. 

England  had  never  been  more  respected  abroad  than 
during  the  reign  of  the  Protector.  Foreign  powers  saw 
that  there  must  be  no  trifling  with  Oliver.  He  made  a 
treaty  with  France  by  which  Charles  L's  two  sons  were 
required  to  leave  that  kingdom,  while  the  two  countries 
joined  in  a  war  against  Spain.  More  than  one  tyrant 
was  forced,  by  the  terror  of  his  name,  to  cease  from  per- 
secutions which  were  the  disgrace  of  Christendom.  Blake 
cruised  along  the  Mediterranean  destroying  the  fleets  of 
Algerine  pirates,  whose  cruel  ravages  made  its  waters 
dreaded  by  all  European  seamen.  Admiral  Penn  (father 
of  our  William  Penn)  and  General  Venables,  attacked 
the  Spanish  West-Indian  Islands;  they  were  repulsed  from 
Hayti,  but  took  Jamaica.  The  Protector  was  so  angry 
at  the  misfortune  in  Hayti  that  he  forgot  to  be  pleased 
with  the  capture  of  the  smaller  island.  And  yet  Jamaica 
is  not  to  be  despised  as  an  acquisition. 

Blake  had  many  brilliant  successes  at  sea,  but  died 
prematurely,  worn  out  by  hard  work  and  exposure.  He 
was  strongly  opposed,  politically,  to  Cromwell's  usurpa- 
tion of  power,  but  said,  "It. is  still  our  duty  to  fight  for 
our  country,  into  what  hands  soever  the  government  may 
fall."  He  was  the  type  of  a  true  Christian  soldier,  and 
was  borne  to  his  grave  in  Westminster  Abbey  amid  the 
tears  and  regrets  of  his  countrymen. 

Cromwell  had  boasted,  in  the  early  part  of  his  career, 
that  he  would  make  the  name  of  Englishman  as  much 
feared  and  respected  abroad  as  ever  that  of  Roman  had 
been,  and  he  found  himself  ably  supported  in  his  efforts. 


292  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

He  said  once,  when  negotiations  were  proposed  with 
Spain,  "There  is  no  embassy  like  a  ship  of  the  line." 
For  the  first  time  since  the  death  of  Elizabeth,  England 
became  formidable  to  her  neighbors.  France  and  Spain, 
the  Moor  and  the  Pope,  were  obliged  in  turn  to  bow  to 
her  decisions. 

Cromwell  called  one  more  Parliament,  from  which  he 
excluded  all  not  favorable  to  his  measures;  but  he  quar- 
reled with  this  as  with  the  others,  and  dissolved  it  in  a 
towering  passion  (1658).  This  Parliament  offered  him 
the  coveted  title  of  King,  but  the  army  opposed  this  so 
strongly  that  he  did  not  venture  to  assume  it.  His  career 
was  now  drawing  to  a  close.  He  was  encompassed  by 
trouble  at  home;  the  country  was  deeply  in  debt;  royalist 
plots  were  forming  around  him,  and  a  book  entitled 
"Killing  no  Murder,"  by  one  Colonel  Titus  of  the  army, 
boldly  advised  taking  him  off  by  violence.  The  Fifth 
Monarchy  men  were  making  a  stir  against  him,  and  he 
lived  in  so  great  dread  of  assassination  that  he  wore 
armor  under  his  clothes  and  always  carried  pistols.  He 
never  let  it  be  known  by  what  road  he  was  going  to  travel, 
nor  slept  more  than  two  nights  in  succession  in  the  same 
room,  fearing  to  give  his  enemies  a  chance  to  make  a 
plot  against  his  life.  His  favorite  daughter,  Elizabeth 
Claypole,  died  at  this  time,  and  the  event  threw  him  into 
a  gloom  from  which  he  never  recovered. 

A  gleam  of  pleasure  came  to  him  through  the  capture 
of  Dunkirk*  from  the  Spaniards,  by  the  combined  armies 
of  France  and  England.  The  town  was,  by  agreement, 
delivered  to  him,  and  was  felt  by  the  English  to  atone, 

*  A  city  in  French  Flanders;  now  the  most  north-easterly  town 
in  France. 


THE  PROTECTORATE.     THE  RESTORATION.   293 

in  some  measure,  for  the  loss  of  Calais.  This  was  the 
last  public  event  of  importance  in  his  life-time.  He  was 
attacked  by  a  slow  fever,  which  was  aggravated  by  his 
distress  of  mind,  and  on  the  anniversary  of  the  battles  of 
Dunbar  and  Worcester,  he  passed  quietly  away,  Septem- 
ber 3,  1658,  in  the  sixtieth  year  of  his  age.* 

Even  Cromwell's  enemies  were  obliged  to  confess  that 
he  was  a  great  man.  As  regarded  the  people  at  large,  he 
was  a  just  and  vigorous  ruler;  his  foreign  policy  was  far- 
sighted  and  brilliant;  his  aims,  at  least  in  the  early  part 
of  his  career,  were  of  the  noblest.  But  his  plan  of  gov- 
ernment had  a  fatal  weakness  in  it.  It  was  built  on  the 
power  of  the  sword.  Fortunately,  the  people  of  England 
could  be  trusted  to  neutralize  or  destroy  the  dominion  of 
any  ruler  who  attacked  their  liberties;  and  their  descend- 
ants in  America,  when  their  turn  came,  showed  that  the 
lesson  had  not  been  lost  upon  them. 

A  noble  feature  of  Cromwell's  administration  was  its 
spirit  of  toleration.  The  Church  of  England  was  not 
interfered  with,  so  long  as  its  ministers  did  not  preach 
against  the  government;  and  even  the  Jews,  the  outcasts 
of  nations,  would  have  been  allowed,  if  the  Protector  had 
had  his  way,  to  return  and  settle  legally  in  England. t 
There  was  such  violent  opposition  to  this  measure  that 
he  was  obliged  to  withdraw  it;  but  the  Jews  came  back 
by  little  and  little,  and  in  1656  he  permitted  them  to  build 
a  synagogue.  George  Fox,  leader  of  the  new  sect  calling 
themselves  Friends,  called  by  others  Quakers,  talked 
more  than  once  with  Cromwell,  who  is  represented  to 
have  been  favorably  impressed  by  him. 

•Cromwell  is  one  of  the  characters  in  Scott's  novel,  "Woodstock." 
t  Ed  ward  I.  had  banished  them  in  1290. 


294  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

Cromwell  left  two  sons ;  Richard,  a  mild-tempered,  in- 
offensive man,  with  very  little  capacity,  and  Henry,  who 
had  shown  great  ability  as  Lord  Lieutenant  of  Ireland, 
and  was  in  every  way  superior  to  his  brother.  Unfor- 
tunately it  was  taken  for  granted  that  the  elder  must 
inherit  his  father's  title,  and  Richard  Cromwell  was 
named  Protector,  without  opposition,  on  the  day  after 
Oliver's  death.  A  Parliament  was  called,  which  imme- 
diately got  into  trouble  with  the  army.  General  Lam- 
bert, a  prominent  officer,  who  had  been  the  first  to  pro- 
pose the  Protectorate,  plotted  against  Richard;  and  the 
army,  acting  under  his  influence,  compelled  the  latter 
to  dissolve  the  Parliament.  Being  urged  to  support  his 
claim  by  force  of  arms,  Richard  replied,  "I  will  not 
have  a  drop  of  blood  spilt  for  the  preservation  of  my 
greatness.  It  is  only  a  burden  to  me."  He  resigned 
his  office,  and  the  army  controlled  everything  through  a 
council  of  officers.  General  Monk,  the  ablest  man  in 
it,  did  his  best  for  Richard  as  long  as  he  remained  Pro- 
tector, but  then  began  secretly  to  conspire  with  the  roy- 
alists, who  saw  their  chance  in  these  divisions.  The 
council  of  officers  recalled  those  members  of  the  Long 
Parliament  whom  Cromwell  had  expelled  in  1653,  and 
as  these  were  mostly  Presbyterians,  they  and  the  Royal- 
ists combined  against  the  Independents.  As  it  was  im- 
possible for  the  members  to  work  in  harmony,  a  new 
assembly,  called  the  Convention  Parliament,  was  sum- 
moned, which  opened  communication  with  the  king,  who 
was  then  at  Breda,  in  Holland.  Charles  sent  from  that 
place  a  "Declaration,"  in  which  he  promised  everything 
that  he  thought  would  be  acceptable  to  the  people;  and, 
since  no  one  doubted  that  he  would  keep  his  word,  he 


CHARLES  II.       TRIPLE  ALLIANCE.  295 

was  welcomed  back  with  expressions  of  heartfelt  joy. 
He  entered  London  on  his  thirtieth  birthday,  May  29, 
1660.  This  event  is  called  the  Restoration. 


CHAPTER   XXXVII. 

CHARLES    II.     TRIPLE    ALLIANCE.     TREATY   OF   DOVER. 

HARLES  II.  had,  like  his  father,  perfect  health 
and  a  fine  figure.  His  features  were  not,  like 
his  father's,  handsome,  but  his  manner  was  so 
agreeable  that  those  conversing  with  him  did  not  notice 
their  harshness. 

Charles  chose  his  ministers  with  discretion,  taking 
them,  without  distinction,  from  opposite  political  parties. 
Edward  Hyde,  a  statesman  of  ability  and  integrity,  was 
made  lord  chancellor  and  prime  minister,  under  the  title 
of  Earl  of  Clarendon.  General  Monk,  to  whom  more 
than  to  any  other  person,  Charles  owed  his  restoration, 
was  created  Duke  of  Albemarle.  James,  Duke  of  York, 
the  king's  brother,  was  made  Lord  High  Admiral.  Of  the 
so-called  regicides  (king-killers),  the  name  given  to  the 
judges  who  tried  Charles  I.,  only  six  were  executed. 
Many  of  them  were  dead;  some  were  imprisoned,  and 
a  few  escaped  beyond  sea.  Two  of  these,  Goffe  and 
Whalley,  came  to  America,  and  lived  for  many  years  in 
concealment  in  New  England.  Many  of  the  Cavaliers 
were  dissatisfied  with  the  "Act  of  Indemnity  and 
Oblivion,"  which  ended  the  matter,  and  said  the  in- 
demnity was  for  the  king's  enemies,  the  oblivion  for 
his  friends. 


2%  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

The  Parliament  had  the  childish  folly  to  order  that 
the  bodies  of  Cromwell,  Ireton,  and  Bradshaw  should  be 
dragged  from  their  splendid  tombs  in  Westminster  Ab- 
bey, hung  on  the  gallows  at  Tyburn  for  the  space  of  one 
day,  and  then  buried  in  a  deep  pit  under  it,  their  heads- 
being  cut  off  and  fixed  on  Westminster  Hall.  Their 
estates  were  also  confiscated. 

The  army  was  now  disbanded,  except  a  few  regiments- 
to  serve  as  garrisons  and  to  form  a  guard  for  the  king. 
It  was  the  general  opinion  that  the  men  thus  suddenly 
thrown  upon  the  country  would  become  marauders,  or 
vagrants,  but  they  were  formed  of  too  good  material  for 
that.  They  returned  quietly  to  their  former  occupations, 
causing  scarcely  a  ripple  upon  the  surface  of  society ;  a. 
state  of  things  paralleled  by  our  own  experience  after 
the  War  of  the  Rebellion. 

In  religious  matters,  those  who  had  expected  tolera- 
tion were  grievously  disappointed.  The  Church  of  Eng- 
land was  restored,  of  course;  and  two  new  laws  were 
passed;  one  called  the  "Act  of  Uniformity,"  requiring 
that  every  clergyman  should  be  ordained  by  a  bishop  and 
should  give  up  the  Covenant,  while  the  other,  called  the 
"Corporation  Act,"  made  it  necessary  for  every  magis- 
trate and  every  civic  corporation  to  swear  never,  under 
any  circumstances,  to  resist  the  king's  authority.  More 
than  two  thousand  clergymen  were  expelled  from  their 
parishes  for  opposition  to  the  Act  of  Uniformity. 

Laws  of  a  better  class  were  those  abolishing  the  last 
remains  of  the  feudal  system,  in  the  form  of  certain 
privileges  of  royalty  which  had  become  intolerable. 
Instead  of  them,  the  king  took  a  yearly  sum  of  money. 

When  public  affairs  had  somewhat  settled  down  in 


CHARLES  II.       TRIPLE  ALLIANCE.  297 

England,  a  new  interest  began  to  be  felt  in  the  colonies. 
King  Charles,  who  was  always  ready  to  grant  a  tract  of 
land  in  America  to  any  one  who  asked  for  it,  gave  to- 
certain  persons  called  "Lords  Proprietors"  a  large  terri- 
tory cut  off  from  the  southern  part  of  Virginia,  to  which 
was  given  the  name  of  Carolina  (from  Carolus,  the  Latin 
for  Charles).  At  a  later  period,  an  elaborate  plan  of 
government  called  the  "Grand  Model"  was  prepared  for 
it.  The  Grand  Model  did  not  work  well,  however.  The 
people  soon  grew  dissatisfied  with  it,  and  early  in  the 
next  century  the  tract  was  divided  into  two  royal  prov- 
inces called  North  and  South  Carolina. 

In  the  third  year  of  his  reign,  Charles  married  Cather- 
ine of  Braganza,  a  Portuguese  princess,  who  brought  him 
a  large  dowry  in  money,  besides  the  city  of  Tangier  in 
Africa.  Though  the  annalists  of  that  time  say  that  she 
was  "pretty  enough,"  Charles  did  not  admire  her,  but 
said,  after  seeing  her  for  the  first  time,  "Upon  my  word, 
they  have  brought  me  a  bat  instead  of  a  woman !"  He 
received  her  kindly,  as  he  did  every  one,  but  soon  began 
to  treat  her  with  neglect,  bringing  into  the  palace  other 
women  whom  he  openly  preferred  to  her.  The  court 
became  a  scene  of  the  vilest  dissipation.  The  courtiers, 
both  men  and  women,  ridiculed  whatever  was  good  and 
virtuous,  so  that  the  better  class  of  persons,  of  all  relig- 
ious beliefs,  withdrew  themselves  from  court.  With  the 
main  body  of  the  people  it  was  not  so;  the  Puritan  leaven 
was  still  working  among  them,  and  they  kept  on  their 
way,  undisturbed  by  the  scandals  of  high  life.  The  friv- 
olity of  Charles  and  his  associates  was  of  the  most  ex- 
pensive sort;  and  while  hundreds  of  faithful  friends  who- 
had  sacrificed  everything  for  the  royal  cause  were  left  to- 


298  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

languish  in  poverty,  he  poured  out  money  like  water  to 
satisfy  the  demands  of  worthless  favorites,  and  to  keep 
up  a  round  of  idle  and  vicious  gayeties.  By  the  advice  of 
Clarendon,  he  sold  the  city  of  Dunkirk  to  France  for 
^£400,000,  the  minister  thinking  the  king  no  longer  able 
to  support  a  fortress  which  required  ^120,000  a  year 
to  maintain.  The  intention  was  good,  but  the  result  was 
only  to  give  Charles  more  money  to  spend  on  his  infam- 
ous pleasures.  The  English  court  became  the  ridicule 
of  foreigners.  In  one  Dutch  print  the  king  was  repre- 
sented with  his  pockets  "turned  the  wrong  side  outward, 
hanging  out  empty;"  in  another,  two  courtiers  were 
employed  in  picking  his  pockets,  while  he  looked  on 
laughing.  To  obtain  more  money  from  Parliament  he 
picked  a  quarrel  with  Holland,  and  before  war  was  de- 
clared, the  Duke  of  York  was  sent  to  take  possession  of 
New  Amsterdam*  (1664).  The  Dutch  governor,  Peter 
Stuyvesant,  was  quite  unprepared,  so  the  place  was  easily 
captured,  as  we  know  from  American  history.  The  whole 
province  now  forming  the  states  of  New  York  and  New 
Jersey  was  bestowed  on  the  Duke  of  York  at  the  same 
time.  He  afterward  granted  New  Jersey  to  two  friends 
of  his,  Berkeley  and  Carteret,  who  in  their  turn  sold  it  to 
the  Quakers  of  Pennsylvania. 

A  more  terrible  enemy  than  Hollander  or  Spaniard 
now  attacked  England.  This  was  the  Great  Plague, 
which  raged  with  such  violence  that  100,000  persons 
died  of  it  in  London  alone  (1665).  The  red  cross,  with 
the  words,  "Lord,  have  mercy  on  us!"  marked  many  a 
door,  and  the  doleful  cry,  "Bring  out  your  dead!" 
sounded  every  morning  as  the  death-carts  took  their  way 

*  Now  the  City  of  New  York. 


CHARLES  II.       TRIPLE  ALLIANCE.  299 

through  the  desolate  streets.  With  the  approach  of 
winter,  the  pestilence  slackened,  and  the  Parliament, 
which  on  account  of  it  had  been  summoned  to  meet  at 
Oxford,  now  found  leisure  to  pass  the  "Five-Mile  Act." 
By  this,  no  dissenting  minister  who  had  not  taken  the 
oaths  of  uniformity  and  non-resistance  was  allowed  to 
<:ome  within  five  miles  of  any  city,  nor  of  any  place  where 
he  had  formerly  preached.  There  had  already  been 
passed  a  "Conventicle  Act,"  which  forbade  all  persons  to 
meet  together  for  worship  in  any  private  house,  to  the 
number  of  more  than  five  in  addition  to  the  family. 
Fines,  imprisonment,  and  transportation  were  the  penal- 
ties attached  to  this  offence.  The  jails  were  soon  filled 
with  men  and  women  who  felt  that  they  had  no  right  to 
refrain  from  meeting  to  worship  God  according  to  their 
•consciences.  In  one  of  those  jails,  John  Bunyan  wrote 
the  Pilgrim's  Progress;  in  a  hundred  others,  men  as 
zealous  and  as  earnest,  gave  their  testimony  in  favor  of 
freedom  of  worship. 

The  horror  attending  the  plague  had  scarcely  passed 
away  when  the  Great  Fire  again  threw  the  people  of 
London  into  consternation  (1666).  Four  days  it  raged 
without  cessation,  among  the  wooden  houses  of  which 
London  was  then  largely  built,  and  which  were  at  that 
time  as  dry  as  tinder.  The  fire  was  at  last  stopped  by 
blowing  up  buildings,  and  it  reminds  one  of  modern 
times  and  cities  to  read,  in  a  letter  written  four  days  after 
the  flames  ceased  to  spread,  "The  citizens,  instead  of 
-complaining,  discoursed  almost  of  nothing  but  of  a  survey 
for  rebuilding  the  city  of  bricks  and  with  large  streets." 
Unfortunately,  however,  the  petty  jealousies  of  proprie- 
tors prevented  the  grand  plans  of  John  Evelyn  and  Sir 


300  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

Christopher  Wren  from  being  carried  out,  and  the  streets 
remained  narrow  and  crooked  as  before. 

It  does  not  give  one  a  very  lofty  idea  of  the  England 
of  that  day  to  know  that  when  a  great  monument  was 
built  on  Fish -street  Hill,  to  commemorate  the  conflagra- 
tion, there  was  an  inscription  put  on  it  saying  that  the 
Roman  Catholics  set  the  city  on  fire;  and  it  is  not  a  little 
surprising  to  know  that  this  inscription  was  allowed  to 
remain  there  until  1831.  Pope  refers  to  it  in  these  lines: 

"Where  London's  column,  pointing  to  the  skies, 
Like  a  tall  bully,  lifts  the  head  and  lies. " 

Meanwhile  the  war  with  Holland  went  on.  There  was 
now  no  Blake  to  strike  terror  to  the  nations,  and  up- 
hold the  honor  of  England's  flag.  To  save  expense,  or 
rather  to  have  more  money  for  his  own  pleasures,  Charles 
had  allowed  the  navy  to  run  down;  and  the  Dutch,  tak- 
ing advantage  of  this,  sailed  up  the  Thames  as  far  as 
London  Bridge,  burning  the  shipping  as  they  went  along. 
A  timely  peace  put  an  end  to  these  ravages  (1667),  but 
the  war  added  nothing  to  England's  credit. 

Angry  at  this  turn  of  affairs  and  determined  to  have  a 
victim,  the  Parliament,  yielding  to  the  murmurs  of  the 
people,  required  of  the  king  the  dismissal  of  Lord  Clar- 
endon. Charles  was  glad  to  get  rid  of  his  minister,  who- 
looked  with  open  disapproval  on  the  immoral  life  of  the 
court;  and  the  faithful  services  of  thirty  years  went  for 
nothing.  The  earl  was  impeached  by  Parliament,  and  a 
sentence  of  banishment  passed  upon  him.  He  had  per- 
haps made  some  errors  of  judgment,  but  there  was  not 
one  of  the  king's  courtiers  at  once  so  able  and  so  patri- 
otic. Clarendon's  daughter,  Anne  Hyde,  was  married 
to  the  Duke  of  York,  Charles's  brother,  who  tried  to  be- 


CHARLES  II.       TRIPLE  ALLIANCE.  301 

friend  him;  but  the  indolent  monarch  did  what  was 
easiest  for  himself,  and  let  his  minister  go.  The  latter 
spent  the  rest  of  his  life  in  France,  writing  his  "History 
of  the  Rebellion,"  a  valuable  storehouse  of  facts,  though 
naturally  colored  by  the  earl's  political  feelings.  After 
Clarendon's  fall,  a  new  ministry  was  formed  called  the 
Cabal,*  from  the  initials  of  their  names,  Clifford,  Arling- 
ton, Buckingham,  Ashley,t  and  Lauderdale.  With  the 
cooperation  of  these  men,  Charles  now  formed  the  first 
famous  "Triple  Alliance," — a  treaty  between  England 
and  Holland  in  which  Sweden  afterward  joined,  with  the 
object  of  restraining  the  growing  power  and  arrogance 
of  Louis  XIV.  of  France.  Samuel  Pepys  says  of  it, 
"It  is  the  only  good  thing  that  hath  been  done  since  the 
king  came  to  England."  The  treaty  was  arranged  at 
the  Hague  by  Sir  William  Temple  on  the  part  of  Eng- 
land, and  John  De  Witt  acting  for  Holland — both  dis- 
tinguished statesmen.  Charles  himself  never  liked  it, 
although,  for  reasons  of  policy,  he  had  thought  best  to 
allow  it  to  be  carried  through.  Holland  was  a  republic, 
which  was  enough  to  prejudice  him  against  it;  and  he 
wished  to  be  independent  of  his  Parliament,  which  he 
could  not  be  without  the  help  of  Louis  XIV.  Convey- 
ing, therefore,  to  Louis,  an  intimation  of  his  wishes,  the 
latter  sent  over  the  Princess  Henrietta,  wife  of  his  own 
brother,  the  Duke  of  Orleans,  and  sister  of  Charles, 
who  arranged  the  matter  without  difficulty.  Charles 
met  her  at  Dover,  whither  she  brought  a  young  French- 
woman, Louise  de  Queronailles,  to  help  gain  his  consent. 
Under  their  influence,  Charles  made  a  secret  and  shame- 

*  A  set  of  men  plotting  together  for  some  bad  purpose, 
t  Better  known  afterward  as  Lord  Shaftesbury. 


302  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

ful  agreement  with  Louis,  called  the  Treaty  of  Dover, 
and  adopted  the  young  lady  as  one  of  his  favorites.  By 
this  treaty,  he  promised  to  help  Louis  in  his  war  against 
Holland  (the  very  country  with  which  England  had 
formed  the  Triple  Alliance),  and  to  make  a  public  pro- 
fession of  the  Roman  Catholic  religion  "at  some  con- 
venient time."  In  return,  Louis  was  to  pay  him  a  sum 
of  money  down  and  ^200,000  a  year  as  long  as  the 
war  lasted,  and  to  send  him  help  in  case  of  another  re- 
bellion at  home.  Charles  remarked  that  he  did  not 
think  he  was  a  king  so  long  as  a  company  of  fellows  (i.  e.  the 
Commons)  were  looking  into  his  actions,  and  examining 
his  ministers  as  well  as  his  accounts.  So  England  was 
sold  by  its  sordid,  selfish  monarch,  who  had  but  one 
desire  in  the  world — that  for  unlimited  self-indulgence. 
The  agreement  was  kept  a  profound  secret  from  all  but 
the  few  persons  whom  Charles  took  into  his  confidence, 
for  if  the  people  had  known  of  it,  either  the  Treaty  of 
Dover  or  the  king's  reign  would  have  ended  at  once. 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 

PLOTS.       HABEAS    CORPUS.       DEATH    OF    CHARLES. 

JS  SOON  as  the  Treaty  of  Dover  was  signed, 
Charles  obtained  a  great  sum  from  Parliament 
for  fitting  out  a  navy  to  uphold  the  Triple 
Alliance.  Then  he  dissolved  the  Parliament  and  kept 
the  money.  As  it  was  not  enough  for  his  wants  (no- 
money  was),  he  suspended  payment  of  the  loans  made 
by  the  goldsmiths  and  others  to  the  exchequer  (treasury),. 


PLOTS.       DEATH  OF  CHARLES.  30S 

which  caused  general  bankruptcy  and  distress  in  all  kinds 
of  business.  The  king  now  issued  a  so-called  "Declara- 
tion of  Indulgence,"  which  granted  freedom  of  worship 
to  all  except  Catholics,  and  even  to  them  the  privilege 
of  having  mass  celebrated  in  their  own  houses.  The 
jails  were  opened;  Bunyan  saw  the  end  of  his  twelve 
years'  imprisonment;  the  Quakers  could  again  go  about 
in  peace;  ministers  returned  to  their  congregations,  and 
there  were  great  rejoicings.  Some  thoughtful  persons,, 
however,  shook  their  heads.  The  king  had  done  this  by 
his  authority  as  head  of  the  church;  but  the  Parliament 
had  made  the  laws — how  could  he  unmake  them?  Ad- 
dresses were  made  to  Charles,  signed  even  by  dissenters, 
to  ask  that  he  would  withdraw  the  Declaration.  "I 
would  rather  suffer  the  rigor  of  the  law,"  said  one  of 
them,  "than  see  all  the  laws  of  England  trampled  under 
the  foot  of  a  prerogative."  A  new  Parliament  took  the 
matter  up,  and  declared  that  no  penal  laws  could  be 
suspended  except  by  consent  of  Parliament,  so  the  king 
was  obliged  to  cancel  the  Indulgence.  One  more  step 
on  the  road  to  freedom. 

Holland  was  now  again  attacked  by  Louis  XIV.,  who* 
expected,  with  the  assistance  of  England,  to  make  an 
end  of  its  independence.  The  chief  officer  of  the  little 
republic  was  William,  Prince  of  Orange,  son  of  Charles's 
sister,  Mary,  and  grandson  of  William  the  Silent.  "Do- 
you  not  see  that  your  country  is  lost?"  asked  the  English 
/ambassador,  counselling  submission.  "There  is  a  sure 
way  never  to  see  it  lost,"  answered  William,  "and  that 
is,  to  die  in  the  last  ditch."  He  was  not  driven  to  this,, 
however.  When  the  French  had  fairly  entered  the  coun- 
try, he  cut  the  dykes  that  kept  out  the  ocean,  and  flooded 


HTSTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


the  country.  Louis's  army  was  obliged  to  retreat,  and 
Holland  was  saved. 

So  strong  a  prejudice  still  existed  in  England  against 
the  Roman  Catholics  that  the  nation  was  not  satisfied 
until  a  Test  Act  was  passed,  requiring  every  person  who 
held  any  office,  either  civil  or  military,  to  subscribe  to 
the  oaths  of  allegiance  and  supremacy,  to  take  the  sacra- 
ment in  the  Church  of  England,  and  to  deny  all  belief  in 
transubstantiation.  Upon  this,  thousands  of  Catholics 
gave  up  their  offices,  James,  Duke  of  York  (Charles's 
brother  and  Lord  High  Admiral)  heading  the  list.  Both 
he  and  his  wife,  Clarendon's  daughter,  had  become  Cath- 
olics after  their  marriage,  though  the  king  insisted  that 
their  daughters  Mary  and  Anne  (afterward  queens  of 
England)  should  be  brought  up  as  Protestants.  Anne 
Hyde,  James's  first  wife,  being  now  dead,  he  married 
Mary  of  Modena,*  an  Italian  princess,  and  a  Roman 
Catholic,  thereby  giving  great  offence  to  the  English. 

One  of  the  strangest  and  wildest  delusions  known  to 
history  now  took  place  in  England.  A  wretched  creature 
named  Titus  Gates,  once  a  clergyman  of  the  Church  of 
England,  but  dismissed  on  account  of  his  vicious  prac- 
tices, pretended  to  have  discovered  a  plot  of  the  Roman 
Catholics  to  burn  London,  kill  the  king,  massacre  the 
Protestants,  and  deliver  the  kingdom  into  the  hands  of 
the  French.  Just  at  this  time,  Sir  Edmondsbury  Godfrey, 
a  Justice  of  the  Peace,  who  had  heard  some  of  the  so- 
called  evidence  of  the  plot,  was  found  dead  in  a  field 
near  London.  It  is  probable  that  he  committed  suicide; 
but  the  cry  went  out  that  he  had  been  murdered,  in 
revenge,  by  the  Catholics,  and  the  popular  fury  rose 

*  Pronounced  Mod'ena. 


PLOTS.       DEATH  OF  CHARLES.  305 

higher  than  ever.  Witnesses  sprang  up  on  all  sides  to 
swear  to  outrageous  falsehoods,  and  it  was  not  until  after 
many  victims  had  perished  that  the  excitement  calmed 
down.  The  most  distinguished  of  these  victims  was 
Viscount  Stafford,  an  old  nobleman  of  the  highest  char- 
acter, whose  gray  hairs  could  not  save  him  from  the 
scaffold.  After  a  while  the  prosecutions  stopped,  but  it 
was  long  before  London  recovered  from  the  excitement. 
Political  affairs  are  so  confused  in  this  reign,  so  many 
laws  were  passed  bearing  on  important  subjects,  so  many 
public  men,  conspicious  for  ability  and  for  good  or  ill 
fortune,  pass  in  succession  over  the  scene,  that  it  is  im- 
possible, in  a  short  space,  to  give  a  clear  idea  of  them. 
Sir  William  Temple,  the  framer  of  the  Triple  Alliance, 
one  of  the  most  high-minded  of  Charles's  statesmen,  after 
using  his  best  efforts  to  bring  order  out  of  confusion, 
retired  into  private  life  and  devoted  himself  to  literary 
pursuits.  Lord  Halifax,  known  as  a  "Trimmer,"  (/'.  e.  one 
who  leans  to  either  side  as  he  sees  one  or  the  other  likely 
to  prevail)  was  the  chief  of  the  moderate  men.  Shaftes- 
bury,  once  high  in  the  king's  favor,  quarreled  with  him 
and  became  one  of  the  most  violent  leaders  of  the  oppo- 
sition. Buckingham  (son  of  the  one  who  was  stabbed  at 
the  beginning  of  Charles  I.'s  reign)  was  the  head  of  the 
"Cabal"  ministry,  and  did  what  was  in  his  power  to  make 
Charles  II.  an  absolute  ruler,  independent  of  Parliament. 
The  poet  Dryden  wrote  of  him  thus,  saying  that  he, 

"Stiff  in  opinions,  always  in  the  wrong, 
Was  everything  by  turns,  and  nothing  long. " 

Sidney  Godolphin,  the  man  who,  Charles  said,  was  "never 
in  the  way  and  never  out  of  the  way,"  was  high-minded 
and  patriotic,  and  so  useful  that  he  served  under  four 
20 


306  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

successive  sovereigns,  and  always  with  honor.  Others, 
whose  names  appear  in  larger  histories,  like  the  Earls  of 
Danby  and  Sutherland,  we  can  only  mention  here. 

Several  bills  of  importance  were  passed  during  the 
winter  of  1679-80.  One  of  these  was  the  "Habeas  Corpus 
Act,"  which  restrained  illegal  imprisonment  by  requiring, 
in  open  court,  the  trial  of  a  prisoner,  so  that  the  cause 
for  which  he  is  shut  up  may  be  made  known.  An  "Act 
for  Disabling  Papists"  was  also  carried  through,  in  con- 
sequence of  which  no  Roman  Catholic  sat  in  the  House 
of  Commons  from  that  time  until  1829,  a  space  of  a 
hundred  and  fifty  years. 

As  Charles  had  no  children,  the  Duke  of  York  was 
heir- presumptive  to  the  throne.  A  strong  effort  was 
made  by  means  of  the  "Exclusion  Bill,"  to  prevent  his 
succeeding,  but  though  the  bill  passed  the  Commons  by 
a  large  majority,  the  Peers  threw  it  out. 

A  frightful  persecution  of  the  Covenanters  in  Scotland 
now  took  place,  under  the  Duke  of  York  as  Lord  High 
Commissioner  and  John  Graham  of  Claverhouse,  a  bril- 
liant, hard-hearted  general.  There  had  been  an  in- 
surrection there,  and  after  it  was  put  down,  scores  of 
persons  were  shot  or  hanged  without  trial,  and  torture, 
which  had  been  abolished  in  England  in  1640,  was  mer- 
cilessly inflicted.  The  Duke  of  Monmouth,  an  illegiti- 
mate son  of  Charles  II.  by  a  woman  named  Lucy  Walters, 
defeated  the  Covenanters  at  Bothwell  Bridge.  The  Duke 
of  York  took  pleasure  in  seeing  the  torture  administered 
to  "heretics,"  and  would  look  on  complacently  at  the 
application  of  the  iron  "boot"  while  the  members  of  his 
council  stole  away  in  horror. 

The  dread  of  a  Roman  Catholic  succession  and  the 


PLOTS.       DEATH  OF  CHARLES.  307 

indignation  against  Charles's  misgovernment  had  now 
become  so  great  that  a  conspiracy,  called,  from  the  place 
where  the  members  met,  the  "Rye -House  Plot,"  was 
formed  to  dethrone  Charles,  and  put  his  son,  the  Duke 
of  Monmouth,  in  his  place.  Some  of  the  conspirators 
really  intended  to  kill  the  king,  as  the  shortest  way  of 
getting  rid  of  him;  others  wished  only  to  put  him  under 
some  restraint,  so  that  he  would  be  incapable  of  further 
mischief.  There  were  others,  including  two  of  the  first 
statesmen  in  the  kingdom,  Lord  Russell  and  Algernon 
Sidney,  who  had  talked  over  among  themselves  the  evils 
of  the  state,  and  discussed  a  possible  remedy.  Some  con- 
versation of  this  kind  was  reported  by  a  traitor,  and  on 
this  Russell  and  Sidney,  the  latter  a  man  of  letters,  and 
author  of  "Discourses  on  Government,"  were  condemned 
to  die  (1683).  With  the  usual  brutality  of  the  time,  they 
were  denied  the  assistance  of  counsel ;  both  conducted 
their  own  defence  with  ability  and  spirit;  but  the  result 
was  inevitable.  Lady  Russell  was  with  her  husband  dur- 
ing his  trial,  arranging  his  papers  and  handing  them  to 
him  as  he  needed  them.  Both  these  executions  were 
clearly  judicial  murders,  sentence  being  given  without 
anything  to  be  called  proof  of  the  offence. 

The  king  was  now  drawing  near  the  end  of  his  career. 
His  last  appearance  in  public  is  thus  described  in  the 
words  of  an  eye-witness,  Mr.  John  Evelyn:  "I  can  never 
forget  the  inexpressible  luxury  and  profaneness,  gaming 
and  all  dissoluteness,  and  as  it  were  total  forgetfulness  of 
God,  last  Sunday  evening  at  Whitehall.  The  king  sitting 
and  talking  with  several  women,  a  French  boy  singing 
love-songs  in  that  glorious  gallery,  while  above  twenty  of 
the  great  courtiers  and  other  dissolute  persons  were  play- 


308  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

ing  cards  around  a  large  table,  a  bank  of  at  least  two 
thousand  in  gold  before  them."  The  next  morning  the 
king  was  struck  with  apoplexy.  He  regained  his  senses 
and  was  able  to  speak,  but  lived  only  a  few  days.  Just 
before  his  death,  his  brother  James,  having  cleared  the 
room  where  he  was  lying,  smuggled  a  Catholic  priest  up 
a  private  stairway  into  the  room,  and  Charles  received 
the  last  sacraments  of  the  Romish  church.  Soon  after 
this,  he  died,  in  the  fifty-fifth  year  of  his  age  and  the 
twenty-fifth  of  his  reign.  The  people  lamented  his  death 
very  sincerely,  for  though  there  was  much  to  be  blamed 
in  his  administration,  they  feared  that  worse  was  to  come. 
Charles  II.  seems  to  have  possessed  scarcely  any  vir- 
tue besides  a  natural  courtesy  and  good  temper.  He 
was  always  agreeable.  A  witty  minister,  the  Earl  of 
Rochester,  once  pinned  on  Charles's  door  this  verse, 
professing  to  be  his  epitaph : 

"  Here  lies  our  sovereign  lord,  the  king. 

Whose  word  no  man  relies  on; 
Who  never  said  a  foolish  thing, 
Nor  ever  did  a  wise  one." 

When  this  was  repeated  to  Charles,  he  said  it  was 
quite  true,  for  his  words  were  his  own,  but  his  actions 
were  his  minister's. 

The  party  names  "Whig"  and  "Tory"  came  into  use 
in  this  reign,  whig  signifying  one  who  wished  reforms 
made  in  the  government,  and  tory  a  conservative,  or 
one  who  wished  to  keep  things  as  they  were.  The  words 
soon  acquired  an  additional  meaning,  tories  being  those 
who  stood  out  for  the  prerogative  of  the  king,  and  whigs 
those  who  would  uphold  the  supremacy  of  the  people. 

Tne  quarter  of  a  century  which  ended  with  the  death 


PLOTS.       DEATH  OF  CHARLES.  309 

of  Charles,  was  a  brilliant  one  for  literature.  Milton  had 
written  "Paradise  Lost;"  Btmyan,  the  "Pilgrim's  Pro- 
gress;" Clarendon  had  told  the  world  about  the  Rebellion, 
Butler  had  satirized  the  Puritans  in  "Hudibras",  and  Mar- 
veil  had  done  a  like  work  for  the  Cavaliers.  Pepys  and 
Evelyn  had  written  the  inimitable  diaries  which  make  the 
social  life  of  that  day  as  real  to  us  as  is  that  of  our  own 
century.  Locke  was  writing  his  "Essay  on  the  Human 
Understanding,"  and  Dryden,  the  dramatist,  who  died 
in  1700,  had  already  produced  many  plays.  But  per- 
haps the  name  which  comes  nearest  to  our  American 
hearts  is  that  of  William  Penn.  , 

His  father,  Admiral  Penn,  the  conqueror  of  Jamaica, 
was  seriously  annoyed  by  the  discovery  that  his  son,  who 
ought  to  have  been  a  good  courtier,  had  joined  the  un- 
popular sect  of  the  Quakers.  Finding  that  he  could  not 
persuade  him  to  change  his  mind,  the  admiral  turned  him 
out  of  doors;  but  having  a  great  respect  as  well  as  affec- 
tion for  him,  was  induced  to  receive  him  into  favor  again. 
The  father  had  lent  a  large  sum  of  money  to  King 
Charles,  and  after  the  admiral's  death,  William  asked 
that  instead  of  the  money  the  king  should  grant  him 
some  land  in  America,  on  which  to  found  a  refuge  for 
his  persecuted  brother-Quakers.  Nothing  could  please 
Charles  better  than  to  avoid,  by  any  expedient,  the  pay- 
ment of  a  debt;  and  a  tract  was  selected  to  which  Penn 
gave  the  pretty  name  of  Sylvania,  which  means  wood- 
land. The  king,  however,  insisted  upon  the  prefix  Penn, 
and  from  the  king's  word  there  was  no  appeal. 


310  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

JAMES    II.       SEDGEMOOR.       THE    SEVEN    BISHOPS.       FLIGHT 
OF   THE    KING. 

SHALL  make  it  my  endeavor,"  said  James  II. 
at  the  first  meeting  of  his  privy  council,  "to 
preserve  the  government,  both  in  church  and 
state,  as  it  is  now  by  law  established."  How  he  suc- 
ceeded in  his  endeavor,  we  read  in  the  pages  of  history. 

If  James  could  have  remained  simply  a  naval  com- 
mander, a  post  for  which  he  was  well  fitted,  the  English 
people  might  have  forgotten  his  desertion  to  the  Church 
of  Rome,  and  forgiven  his  questioning  Covenanters  by 
means  of  the  "boot."  As  a  king,  however,  his  power  to 
do  harm  was  so  much  increased  that  he  was  watched 
more  jealously  than  before,  and  soon  gave  ample  evi- 
dence that  he  needed  such  watching. 

His  first  public  act  was  to  order  the  collection  of 
customs  duties,  which  could  be  legally  done  only  by 
order  of  Parliament.  Then  he  released  from  prison,  on 
his  own  authority,  not  only  Romanists,  but  other  non- 
conformists, to  show  that  his  disregard  of  law  was  sys- 
tematic and  not  personal.  He  went  openly  to  mass,  a 
penal  offence.  On  the  other  hand,  all  the  chief  offices 
remained  in  the  hands  of  Protestants.  Rochester,  Clar- 
endon (son  of  Charles  IL's  prime  minister,  who  was  now 
dead),  Godolphin,  Sunderland,  Halifax,  occupied  the 
chief  places  in  his  cabinet. 

It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  the  infamous  Titus  Gates 
escaped  the  reward  of  his  crimes  when  James  came  into 


JAMES  IL    SEDGEMOOR.    SEVEN  BISHOPS.    311 

power.  He  was  punished  with  a  ferocity  which  brought 
a  glow  of  pleasure  to  the  king's  cruel  heart.  Besides 
being  fined,  having  to  stand  twice  in  the  pillory  and 
being  sentenced  to  life  imprisonment,  all  of  which  he  well 
deserved,  he  was  whipped  through  the  city  with  unusual 
severity  from  Oldgate  to  Newgate  on  one  day,  and  then 
from  Newgate  to  Tyburn  two  days  afterward.  On  the 
second  day,  not  being  able  to  stand,  he  was  dragged 
through  the  streets  on  a  hurdle,  receiving  on  that  day 
seventeen  hundred  lashes.  The  judges  meant  to  kill 
him  with  these  floggings,  as  his  offence  was  not  one  for 
which  he  could  be  hung,  but  the  wretch  survived  them, 
and  lived  through  James's  reign,  standing  in  the  pillory 
five  times  a  year,  until  at  the  accession  of  a  Protestant 
king,  he  was  liberated  and  provided  with  a  pension. 

The  Duke  of  Monmouth  had  been  in  Holland  during 
the  last  years  of  his  father's  life,  in  disgrace  on  account 
of  his  connection  with  the  Rye-House  Plot.  Unwise 
counsellors  now  urged  him  to  take  advantage  of  James's 
unpopularity  to  make  a  claim  to  the  throne  of  England, 
under  the  pretext  that  his  mother  had  been  married  to 
Charles  II.  Monmouth,  a  handsome,  amiable  youth, 
but  weak  in  character,  caught  at  the  bait.  He  landed 
in  Dorsetshire,  on  the  southern  coast,  with  scarcely  a 
hundred  followers;  but  the  people,  disliking  the  sombre 
James,  and  detesting  popery,  flocked  to  his  standard, 
and  he  soon  found  himself  at  the  head  of  six  thousand 
men.  At  Taunton,  his  adherents  thronged  the  streets, 
«very  one  with  a  green  bough  in  his  hat;  the  houses 
were  hung  with  garlands  ;  flowers  were  strewn  in  his 
;>ath,  and  a  troop  of  young  girls  went  in  procession  to 
offer  him  twenty-seven  standards,  worked  by  their  own 


?12  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

hands.  In  a  declaration  published  by  Monmouth  on 
landing,  in  which  he  abused  his  uncle,  James  II.,  in  very 
discourteous  language,  Monmouth  had  said  that  he 
would  leave  his  claim  to  be  decided  by  a  free  Parlia- 
ment. At  Taunton,  however,  he  assumed  the  title  of 
king,  and  issued  proclamations  dated  "from  our  camp 
at  Taunton,  in  the  first  year  of  our  reign."  Moving 
northward,  he  heard  of  the  defeat  and  capture  of 
Argyle,  who  had  raised  an  army  for  him  in  Scotland. 
Affairs  began  to  look  dark.  One  discouragement  suc- 
ceeded another,  and  in  a  few  days  he  came  up  with  the 
royal  army  at  Sedgemoor.  The  battle  was  soon  decided. 
Monmouth's  army  of  peasants  and  miners  gave  way  and 
fled,  the  unhappy  leader  taking  shelter  in  a  ditch.  Here 
he  was  found,  almost  starving,  with  only  a  few  raw  peas 
in  his  pocket.  He  was  taken  to  prison,  where  he  wrote 
an  abject  letter  to  James,  begging  for  an  interview,  ex- 
pressing deep  contrition,  and  accusing  the  friends  who 
had  led  him  away  with  false  arguments.  James  had  the 
incredible  meanness  to  see  him  and  let  him  crawl  up  to 
him  on  his  knees,  begging  for  life,  and  then  to  dismiss 
him  coldly  to  his  fate.  Monmouth  was  beheaded  on 
Tower  Hill,  in  the  thirty-sixth  year  of  his  age  (1685). 

Then  began  the  butchery  of  his  followers.  James  had 
chosen  for  the  accomplishment  of  this  task  the  two  fittest 
instruments  in  England;  Colonel  Kirke,  whose  "Lambs" 
(a  regiment  of  soldiers  so  called)  had  been  trained  to 
ferocity  by  practice  among  the  Moors  in  Tangier;  and 
Judge  Jeffreys,  a  debased  wretch  to  whom  the  king  held 
out  the  promise  of  the  office  of  Lord  Chancellor,  as  a 
bait  to  engage  him  to  do  his  work  thoroughly.  Kirke 
hanged  his  prisoners  in  batches  without  the  form  of  a 


JAMES  II.     SEDGEMOOR.     SEVEN  BISHOPS,    S13 

trial.  The  story  is  told  that  while  the  bodies  were  still 
quivering,  he  would  order  the  drums  to  beat,  saying  that 
they  should  have  music  for  their  dancing.  Such  an  im- 
mense number  of  persons  were  quartered  that  their  re- 
mains were  thrown  into  great  cauldrons  of  boiling  pitch, 
to  get  rid  of  them.  Kirke  kept  no  record  of  his  deeds, 
but  it  was  believed  at  the  time  that  he  hanged  a  hundred 
prisoners  during  the  week  after  the  battle.  He  was  re- 
called in  displeasure  by  the  government,  not  on  account 
of  his  barbarity,  but  because  all  the  rich  rebels  got  off 
by  bribing  him. 

Then  came  the  circuit  of  Jeffreys.  His  first  trial  was 
of  Alice  Lisle,  an  old  gentlewoman  who  was  accused  of 
harboring  two  of  the  rebels  for  a  night.  Jeffreys  ordered 
her  to  be  burnt  to  death.  Such  a  protest  was  raised 
against  this  that  he  was  obliged  to  commute  the  punish- 
ment to  beheading.  A  poor  woman  named  Elizabeth 
Gaunt,  guilty  of  the  same  crime,  was  burnt  alive.  During 
what  was  called  "The  Bloody  Assizes,"  this  judge  hanged 
three  hundred  and  thirty  persons,  besides  condemning 
others  to  fines,  imprisonment,  and  whipping,  and  sentenc- 
ing hundreds  to  be  sold  into  slavery  in  the  West  Indies. 
In  this  last  horrible  traffic,  the  queen  and  her  ladies 
joined,  and  begged  for  prisoners  that  they  might  make 
money  by  their  sale.  The  office  of  Lord  Chancellor  was 
conferred  on  Jeffreys,  as  the  king  had  promised,  in  re- 
ward for  his  zeal. 

The  laws  against  the  Romanists  were  not  repealed, 
but  they  were  openly  violated  by  the  king  and  by  all 
Catholics.  The  public  discontent  being  plainly  shown 
at  this,  James  established  a  camp  of  thirteen  thousand 
men  at  Hounslow  to  keep  London  in  order.  In  Scotland, 


314  HISTORY   OF  ENGLAND. 

he  caused  a  law  to  be  passed  punishing  with  death  and 
confiscation  of  property  all  who  attended  conventicles  in 
the  open  air,  or  who  preached  at  them.  In  Ireland  the 
army  was  put  under  the  charge  of  Lord  Tyrcormel,  who 
turned  out  many  Protestant  officers  and  added  great 
numbers  of  Irish  Catholics  to  the  ranks.  All  this  showed 
the  English  what  they  were  to  expect  in  their  own  country. 
It  seemed  as  if  James  exerted  all  his  ingenuity  to  do 
whatever  would  be  most  offensive  to  the  English  people. 
He  reestablished  the  Court  of  High  Commission;  he 
took  money  from  France,  though  not  so  secretly  but  that 
he  was  found  out;  he  sent  an  ambassador  to  Rome  to 
express  his  wish  that  England  might  be  received  into  the 
church  as  in  Queen  Mary's  time;  he  forced  a  Romish 
priest  on  one  of  the  colleges  at  Oxford.*  Next,  he  pub- 
lished a  Declaration  of  Indulgence,  stating  that  non-con- 
formity to  the  established  religion  should  no  longer  be 
punished,  and  ordered  that  on  a  certain  Sunday  this  de- 
claration should  be  read  in  all  the  churches  (1688).  This 
ordinance  the  clergy,  as  a  general  thing,  did  not  obey, 
and  seven  bishops,  including  Archbishop  Sancroft,  pre- 
sented to  the  king  a  humble  petition  against  it.  James 
was  enraged  at  what  he  called  their  insolence,  and  the 
bishops  were  committed  to  the  Tower.  On  their  way 
thither,  the  banks  of  the  Thames  were  lined  with  crowds 
of  persons  who  knelt  and  implored  their  blessing,  utter- 

*The  young  Duke  of  Somerset  was  ordered  to  introduce  the 
Pope's  messenger  into  James's  presence-chamber.  "I  am  advised," 
he  answered,  "that  I  can  not  obey  your  Majesty  without  breaking 
the  law."  "Do  you  not  know  that  I  am  above  the  law?"  said 
James  angrily.  "Your  Majesty  may  be,  but  I  am  not,"  answered 
the  duke,  and  was  dismissed  from  his  post. 


JAMES  II.     SEDGEMOOR.     SEVEN  BISHOPS.    315 

ing  cries  to  Heaven  for  their  deliverance.  The  trial  took 
place  in  Westminster  Hall,  the  bishops  being  charged 
with  "publishing  a  false  and  seditious  libel."  They  were 
acquitted,  and  bonfires,  bell-ringings,  and  illuminations 
testified  to  the  joy  of  the  people. 

In  the  midst  of  this  excitement,  a  son  was  born  to  the 
queen.  This  event  completed  the  general  dissatisfaction. 
While  King  James's  Protestant  daughter  Mary  was  heir 
presumptive  to  the  crown,  his  subjects  bore  his  tyranny, 
thinking  that  when  he  died  there  would  be  a  change  for 
the  better;  but  to  look  forward  to  having  the  son  of 
James  II.  and  Mary  of  Modena  reign  over  them  was 
more  than  they  could  bear.  Their  eyes  naturally  turned 
to  the  Princess  Mary  and  to  her  husband,  William  of 
Orange,  who,  being  himself  a  grandson  of  Charles  I.,  was 
the  next  heir  to  the  throne  after  the  family  of  James.  An 
intimation  to  this  effect  being  conveyed  to  William,  he 
began  to  make  preparations  for  an  invasion.  James  was 
thunderstruck  at  hearing  of  this.  It  had  never  occurred 
to  him  that  he  could  not  to  the  end  of  his  days  go  on 
trampling  on  the  liberties  of  the  people,  and  he  suddenly 
poured  forth  concessions,  relinquishing  the  things  he  had 
insisted  on,  replacing  the  officers  he  had  turned  out, 
and  trying  to  make  friends  with  the  people  he  had  in- 
sulted; but  it  was  too  late. 

In  September,  1688,  the  Prince  of  Orange  published 
.a  declaration  which  was  eagerly  read  throughout  the 
country,  stating  that  he,  from  his  near  relationship  to  the 
kingdom,  felt  it  his  duty  to  protect  the  civil  and  religious 
liberty  of  its  people,  and  denying  that  he  had  any  further 
object  in  view  than  the  calling  of  a  free  Parliament. 
With  a  fleet  of  sixty  ships  and  fifteen  thousand  men  he 


316  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

landed  at  Torbay  on  the  south  coast,  and  marched  north- 
ward, his  army  increasing  as  he  advanced.  When  James 
took  command  of  his  camp  at  Salisbury,*  he  found  the 
desertion  of  his  soldiers  so  extensive  that  he  decided  to 
retreat  towards  London,  thus  making  his  weakness  only 
the  more  evident 

Besides  these  defections,  the  king  had  others  most  un- 
expected to  him.  Lord  Churchill  (afterward  Duke  of 
Marlborough)  who  owed  everything  to  James,  and  who 
had  been  loaded  by  him  with  favors,  went  over  to  the 
enemy,  taking  with  him  many  of  the  officers  on  whom 
the  king  most  depended.  But  this  was  not  the  worst. 
He  and  his  wife  had  acquired  an  unbounded  influence 
over  the  Princess  Anne,  James's  daughter,  a  weak,  dull 
woman,  married  to  Prince  George  of  Denmark;  and  the 
Churchills  persuaded  this  couple  also  to  leave  the  king 
and  go  to  the  camp  of  the  Prince  of  Orange. 

This  last  blow  seemed  to  touch  James  more  nearly 
than  any  other.  He  burst  into  tears  on  hearing  of  Anne's 
escape,  and  exclaimed,  "God  help  me!  My  own  chil- 
dren have  forsaken  me!"  He  sent  away  his  queen  and 
infant  son  to  France;  and  being  convinced,  from  the 
intelligence  brought  to  him,  that  his  cause  was  hopeless, 
he  himself  fled,  with  one  attendant,  throwing  the  great 
seal  into  the  Thames,  to  prevent  its  being  used  in  call- 
ing a  Parliament. 

Nothing  could  have  pleased  William  of  Orange  and 
the  English  people  in  general  so  much  as  to  have  King 
James  run  away,  as  he  had  done;  and  they  were  alt 
very  much  disgusted  when  it  was  found  that  he  had 
been  captured  by  some  fisherman  at  Sheerness,  as  he  was. 

•Pronounced  Saulsbury. 


JAMES  II.     SEDGEMOOR.     SEVEN  BISHOPS.    317 

making  his  escape  in  disguise.  He  was  necessarily 
brought  back  to  London,  but  every  facility  was  given 
him  for  escaping  again;  and  while  he  imagined  himself 
to  be  cleverly  outwitting  his  enemies,  they  were  really 
opening  bolts  and  bars  before  him,  so  that  nothing  could 
throw  him  again  on  their  hands.  This  time  he  really 
got  away,  embarked  on  a  ship  which  was  waiting  for 
him,  and  hastened  to  Paris,  where  he  was  received  with 
great  kindness  by  Louis  XIV.,  who  gave  him  a  splendid 
establishment  at  St.  Germains,  and  supported  him  in 
luxury  as  long  as  he  lived. 


CHAPTER  XL. 

REVOLUTION   OF    1 688.      WILLIAM   AND    MARY. 

I E  have  now  arrived  at  the  third  of  the  three  great 
R's  of  the  seventeenth  century:  the  Rebellion, 
the  Restoration,  and  the  Revolution.  The 
latter  is  commonly  known  by  the  prefix  "glorious."  If 
the  Commonwealth  had  continued,  the  events  of  1642- 
49  would  have  made  a  revolution ;  as  the  old  state  of 
things  in  1660  was  reestablished,  it  is  known  as  a 
rebellion.  Revolution  is  successful  rebellion. 

William  of  Orange,  whom  we  must  henceforth  call 
William  III.  of  England,  was  careful  to  observe  all  the 
forms  of  government.  A  convention  was  called  (there 
could  be  no  lawful  Parliament,  because  there  was  no  king 
to  issue  the  writs  for  one)  in  which,  after  stating  the 
throne  to  be  vacant  by  the  desertion  of  James,  it  was 
decided  to  offer  it  to  William  and  Mary  for  their  joint 


318  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

lives,  and  to  William  if  he  should  survive  his  wife.  The 
administration  was  to  be  altogether  in  his  hands,  To 
this  was  added  a  Declaration  of  Rights,  in  which  the 
real  worth  of  the  Revolution  consists.  The  points  in- 
sisted on  were  these:  i.  The  king  can  not  dispense  with 
the  laws,  nor  suspend  their  execution ;  2.  He  can  not 
levy  money  without  the  consent  of  Parliament;  3.  Sub- 
jects have  the  right  of  petition  ;  4.  The  king  can  not  keep 
up  a  standing  army  in  time  of  peace  without  the  consent 
of  Parliament;  5.  Parliament  must  be  frequently  assem- 
bled, and  elections  and  debates  must  be  free.  Other 
items  were  added,  still  further  limiting  the  power  of  the 
crown;  and,  as  Macaulay  says,  "The  highest  praise  of 
the  Revolution  of  1688  is  that  it  was  the  last." 

It  was  a  grand  country  that  William  and  Mary  now 
took  in  charge.  Though  the  whole  century  had  been 
one  of  political  struggle,  with  an  occasional  battle  like 
Marston  Moor,  or  Naseby,  the  general  prosperity  had 
gone  on  with  a  steady  increase.  Fields  were  tilled,, 
mines  worked,  commerce  carried  on,  manufactures  im- 
proved; the  people  were  better  off,  more  comfortably 
lodged,  better  fed  and  clothed  in  1688  than  in  1588. 
Something  like  a  post-office  was  established,  and  it  was 
a  matter  of  pride  to  say  that  a  letter  could  be  carried 
three  hundred  miles  and  an  answer  received  in  five  days. 
This  rate  of  speed  was  attained  by  means  of  relays  of 
post-horses.  The  government  was  very  jealous  of  news- 
papers, but  Charles  II.  allowed  the  publication  of  the 
London  Gazette,  which  has  been  issued  now  (1891)  twice 
a  week  for  more  than  two  hundred  years.  Clubs  took, 
to  some  extent,  the  place  of  daily  journals.  News  passed 
from  mouth  to  mouth,  and  a  gentleman  went  to  his  club 


REVOLUTION.       WILLIAM  AND  MARY.        319 

to  hear  the  latest  items  of  interest  and  know  what  others 
thought  of  them,  as  he  now  takes  up  his  morning  paper. 

In  point  of  comfort,  there  was  still  much  to  be  desired. 
The  roads  from  one  town  to  another  were  almost  im- 
passable. The  streets  of  London  were  unpaved,  and 
were  not  lighted,  except  by  private  individuals,  until  the 
last  year  of  Charles  II. 's  reign.  Even  then,  the  dim  oil 
lamps  would  seem  only  to  make  "darkness  visible"  in 
comparison  to  our  gas  and  electricity.  Carpets  gradu- 
ally took  the  place  of  straw  and  rushes.  There  were  no 
circulating  libraries;  those  who  wanted  to  read  books 
must  borrow  or  buy  them.  The  state  of  education  among 
women  is  shown  by  an  inscription  written  by  Queen 
Mary,  wife  of  William  III.  (who  was  probably  as  well 
educated  as  most  women  of  her  time),  in  a  gorgeously 
bound  Bible,  "This  book  was  given  to  the  king  and  I 
at  our  coronation."  Foreign  princesses  were  even  worse 
off.  James  II.  records  in  his  journal  that  when  Mary  of 
Modena  was  told  that  she  was  to  marry  him,  she  asked 
who  he  was.  "She  had  been  so  innocently  bred,"  he 
observes,  "that  she  did  not  know  of  such  a  place  as 
England,  nor  of  such  a  person  as  the  Duke  of  York." 

The  enthusiasm  with  which  the  arrival  of  William  III. 
had  been  hailed,  diminished  as  he  was  brought  into  per- 
sonal contact  with  the  English.  He  had  cold,  distant 
manners,  and  so  little  command  of  the  language  that  he 
was  usually  silent  in  company.  The  common  people 
distrusted  him  as  a  foreigner,  and  a  very  large  proportion 
of  the  better  class  considered  him  a  usurper.  It  was 
plain  that  his  position  was  going  to  be  a  difficult  one, 
and  that  it  would  need  great  judgment  and  discretion  to 
steer  clear  of  the  dangers  which  surrounded  him. 


320  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

These  were  just  the  qualities  in  which  William  excelled. 
He  chose  his  ministers  from  among  the  statesmen  most 
trusted  by  the  English  people,  even  though  some  of  them 
had  opposed  his  being  made  king.  His  dearest  friend, 
William  Bentinck,  a  native  of  Holland,  was  made  a  privy 
councillor,  with  the  title  of  Duke  of  Portland. 

His  first  trouble  in  England  arose  in  connection  with 
the  army.  Some  regiments  having  shown  themselves  dis- 
contented, William,  by  the  advice  of  his  council,  decided 
to  send  them  to  Holland  and  supply  their  places  with 
Dutch  troops.  This  made  them  still  more  indignant, 
and  they  marched  northward  in  open  mutiny,  with  drums 
beating  and  colors  flying.  They  were  put  down  by  some 
Dutch  regiments  which  were  sent  in  pursuit  of  them, 
and  severely  punished,  while  Parliament  for  the  first 
time  passed  a  Mutiny  Bill,  placing  the  army  under  mar- 
tial law.  Up  to  this  time  a  soldier  was  considered  a 
citizen,  and  even  if  he  struck  his  commanding  officer, 
he  was  liable  only  to  the  penalty  for  assault  and  battery. 

Many  members  of  the  House  of  Lords,  including 
Archbishop  Sancroft  and  several  other  bishops,  refused 
to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  William,  on  the  ground 
of  their  previous  obligations  to  James.  Such  persons 
were  called  "non-jurors,"  and,  in  the  case  of  the  clergy, 
were  afterward  deprived  of  their  livings. 

To  emphasize  still  more  the  distinction  between  the 
non-juring  prelates  and  the  loyal  subjects  of  William, 
a  "Toleration  Act"  was  passed,  allowing  freedom  of 
worship  to  all  who  took  the  oaths  of  allegiance  and 
supremacy,  and  denied  the  doctrine  of  transubstanti- 
ation.  This  relieved  the  disabilities  of  all  dissenters  ex- 
cept the  Roman  Catholics.  During  these  debates,  the 


REVOLUTION.       WILLIAM  AND  MARY.         321 

double  coronation  took  place,  and  as  the  Archbishop 
refused  to  officiate  at  it,  the  ceremony  was  performed  by 
the  Bishop  of  London. 

In  Scotland,  a  strong  party  still  held  out  for  King 
James,  at  the  head  of  which  was  Graham  of  Claverhouse, 
now  created  Viscount  Dundee.  He  raised  a  small 
force  of  Highlanders  with  whom  he  defeated  a  much 
larger  number  of  English  in  the  battle  of  Killiekrankie, 
but  was  himself  mortally  wounded.  The  Highlanders, 
discouraged,  dispersed  to  their  homes,  Edinburgh  Castle, 
which  held  out  against  William,  surrendered,  and  the 
whole  country  was  reduced  to  obedience  (1689).  To 
gratify  the  Scotch,  William  abolished  Episcopacy,  and 
Presbyterianism  has  since  been  the  recognized  religion 
of  the  country. 

James  II.  had  not  given  up  the  struggle  for  his  crown. 
Being  supplied  with  a  fleet  and  army  by  Louis  XIV., 
he  landed  at  Kinsale,  in  Ireland,  and  marched  to 
Dublin,  being  joined  by  great  numbers  of  the  Irish. 
The  city  of  Londonderry  held  out  against  him  and  was 
besieged  by  his  forces  for  105  days,  during  which  time 
the  inhabitants  suffered  the  extremity  of  hunger.  A 
Presbyterian  clergyman  named  Walker  put  himself  at  the 
head  of  the  garrison,  whose  commander  had  deserted 
them,  and  conducted  the  defense  with  skill  and  energy. 
Just  as  it  seemed  as  if  the  defenders  must  give  up 
from  starvation,  relief  came  from  England,  and  James's 
general,  DeRosen,  moved  away.  The  protestant  town 
of  Enniskillen  was  also  successfully  defended  on  the 
field  of  Newton  Butler. 

The  great  battle  of  the  war  was  yet  to  come.      It 
was  fought  in  person  by  the  two  kings,  on  the  bank  of 
21 


322  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

the  River  Boyne,  not  far  from  Dublin.  James's  army 
was  inferior  in  numbers  to  William's,  but  his  position 
was  so  strong  that  he  ventured  to  fight.  The  king  was 
wounded,  a  bullet  grazing  his  shoulder,  but  the  English 
won  the  day.  The  loss  on  both  sides  was  small,  con- 
sidering the  important  issues  at  stake.  James  himself 
set  the  example  of  flight  when  he  saw  that  the  battle 
was  going  against  him,  and  his  soldiers  dispersed,  so 
that  when  he  reached  Dublin  he  was  without  an  army, 
and  took  ship  as  soon  as  possible  for  France.  This 
engagement  is  called  "The  Battle  of  the  Boyne"  (1690). 

William  returned  to  London  in  triumph,  after  an- 
absence  of  only  five  weeks.  While  he  was  away  a 
naval  battle  had  been  fought  with  the  French  off 
Beachy  Head  in  Sussex,  in  which  the  enemy  were 
victorious.  The  commander,  Lord  Torrington,  was 
incompetent,  and  the  battle  was  an  ignominious  one. 
There  were  fears  that  the  French  would  pursue  the 
beaten  fleet  up  the  Thames  and  threaten  London  as 
the  Dutch  had  done  in  Charles  II.'s  time;  but  they 
only  burned  the  town  of  Teignmonth  and  went  home. 
William  was  extremely  angry  with  Torrington,  who  had 
put  the  Dutch  ships  where  they  would  bear  the  brunt 
of  the  battle;  and  though  the  admiral  was  acquitted 
by  a  court-martial,  William  would  not  see  him,  and 
ordered  him  to  be  dismissed  from  the  service. 

One  more  naval  battle  finished  the  war.  It  was 
fought  off  Cape  La  Hogue  in  Normandy,  King  James 
commanding  the  French  fleet  and  Admiral  Russell  the 
combined  Dutch  and  English  one.  The  latter  gained 
a  brilliant  victory,  and  as  Louis  refused  to  furnish 
James  with  further  aid,  the  deposed  king  retired  to 


REVOLUTION.       WILLIAM  AND  MARY.         323 

St.  Germains  (1691).  From  this  time  he  disappears 
in  person  from  English  history,  though  his  name  was 
still  a  rallying  word  for  all  discontent,  and  the  plots 
of  his  friends  never  ceased  to  distract  the  tranquillity 
of  William's  reign. 


C AFTER  XL  I. 

GLENCOE.   DEATH  OF  MARY.   PEACE  OF  RYSWICK. 
DEATH  OF  WILLIAM  III. 

|  HE  war  in  Ireland  was  not  ended  by  the  Battle 
of  the  Boyne.  Most  of  the  country  was  still 
in  possession  of  James's  friends;  and  it  was 
only  at  the  close  of  the  year  1691  that  the  struggle 
closed  with  the  Pacification  of  Limerick.  By  this  it  was 
agreed  that  the  Irish  who  consented  to  acknowledge 
William  should  be  allowed  to  enjoy  their  religion  and 
their  property,  while  all  others  were  offered  free  pas- 
sage to  France.  Twelve  thousand  men  under  Gen- 
eral Sarsfield  availed  themselves  of  this  offer,  and  were 
promised  by  him  that  their  families  should  accompany 
them.  When  the  troops  prepared  to  embark,  however, 
it  was  found  that  there  was  not  room  enough  for  all, 
and  hundreds  of  women  and  children  were  left  on 
the  shore  to  die  of  slow  starvation  or  to  beg  their  way 
home,  there  to  endure  untold  misery,  deprived  of  their 
natural  protectors. 

Between  the  two  victories,  the  battle  of  the  Boyne 
and  that  of  Cape  La  Hogue,  a  horrible  tragedy  took 
place  in  Scotland  for  which  William  III.  is  at  least 


324  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

partly  responsible.  The  Highland  chiefs  who  had  been 
engaged  in  the  rebellion  under  Dundee  were  slow  in 
taking  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  new  king,  and  one 
of  them,  Macdonald  of  Glencoe,  put  it  off  until  the  last 
day  allowed  by  the  treaty,  Dec.  31,  1691.  On  arriv- 
ing at  Fort  William,  which  he  supposed  to  be  the  place 
appointed  for  taking  the  oath,  he  found  no  one  there 
qualified  to  administer  it,  and  in  great  distress  of  mind 
made  his  way,  through  heavy  snow-storms  and  over 
steep  mountains  to  Inverary.  He  had  spent  six  days  on 
the  toilsome  journey,  and  with  difficulty  persuaded  the 
sheriff  to  allow  him  to  take  the  required  oath.  Unfor- 
tunately, his  deadly  enemy,  Sir  John  Dalrymple,  Mas- 
ter of  Stair,  had  procured  from  William  an  order  for 
the  extermination  of  the  Macdonald  clan.  This  mis- 
creant sent  a  body  of  soldiers  to  the  peaceful  village 
of  Glencoe,  where  they  were  hospitably  entertained 
for  a  fortnight,  the  Highlanders  freely  sharing  with 
them  everything  they  had.  At  a  preconcerted  time 
each  party  of  soldiers  undertook  to  murder  every  male, 
old  and  young,  in  the  houses  where  they  were  quar- 
tered; and  in  the  early  morning,  after  an  evening  of 
gayety  spent  in  drinking  and  playing  cards,  wild  shrieks 
proclaimed  that  the  work  of  death  was  begun.  Some 
forty  persons  were  massacred,  including  some  women 
who  were  trying  to  defend  their  children.  About  two*- 
thirds  of  the  inhabitants  escaped,  though  many  of  these 
died  of  cold  and  hunger  while  fleeing  through  the 
mountains. 

William's  apologists  have  tried  to  excuse  him  on  the 
ground  that  he  did  not  know  what  he  was  doing  in 
signing  the  order  to  "extirpate  that  set  of  thieves,  if  they 


DEATHS  OF  MARY  AND    WILLIAM  III.         325 

can  be  well  distinguished  from  the  rest  of  the  High- 
landers." But  the  order  itself  remains,  and  is  a  horrible 
monument  of  the  brutal  use  of  power. 

Among  the  political  changes  in  William's  reign  was 
the  establishment  of  a  Cabinet,  or  Council  of  Ministers, 
all  chosen  from  the  same  political  party,  and  thus  acting 
together.  Until  this  time,  each  of  the  king's  council  had 
been  independent  of  the  others,  and  their  advice  was 
often  contradictory.  This  new  kind  of  ministry  proved 
most  efficient  in  the  transaction  of  public  business,  and 
gradually  became,  what  it  continues  to  the  present  day, 
a  kind  of  committee  of  the  House  of  Commons. 

Many  great  public  measures  were  now  carried  forward. 
A  bill  was  passed  for  a  triennial  Parliament;  the  censor- 
ship of  the  press  was  abolished,  after  \vhich  a  host  of 
newspapers  sprang  up,  and  a  national  bank  was  created, 
which  regulated  and  made  permanent  the  national  debt. 

The  war  against  Louis  XIV.,  to  prosecute  which  was 
the  great  object  of  the  king's  life,  continued  for  some 
years  with  varying  success.  William  gained  some  bril- 
liant victories,  but  lost  the  battles  of  Steenkirk  and  Lan- 
den,  and  his  fleet  met  with  reverses  at  sea.  His  misfor- 
tunes encouraged  to  renewed  efforts  the  partisans  of 
James,  who  never  ceased  to  intrigu*  against  him,  and 
who  included  among  their  number  some  of  the  ablest 
men  in  the  kingdom.  The  double-dyed  traitor,  Marl- 
borough,  was  again  in  communication  with  James,  wait- 
ing only  for  an  opportunity  to  bring  him  back;  and  the 
inconstant  Sunderland  was  also  suspected  of  favoring  his 
return.  Embarrassed  by  these  difficulties  on  every  hand, 
William  sustained  a  severe  blow  in  the  loss  of  his  wife, 
who  died  of  small-pox  (1694).  In  later  years,  he  had 


326  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

been  devoted  to  her,  though  her  early  married  life  was 
far  from  being  a  happy  one.  She  was  a  woman  of  marked 
ability,  and  had  been  left  regent  in  England  during  her 
husband's  frequent  absences  on  the  continent,  always 
performing  the  duties  of  the  office  with  success,  even 
under  the  most  trying  circumstances.  Mary  was  only 
thirty -two  years  old. 

It  had  long  been  the  queen's  desire  that  the  palace  at 
Greenwich,  which  had  never  been  completed,  should  be 
turned  into  a  hospital  for  disabled  soldiers.  After  her 
death,  William  carried  out  her  wishes  and  Greenwich 
Hospital  became  a  noble  monument  of  her  benevolence 
and  his  affection.  It  is  now  occupied  as  a  Royal  Naval 
Academy  and  Hospital -School.  Mary  had  been  an  ex- 
cellent wife,  supplying  by  her  graciousness  of  manner 
and  her  many  agreeable  qualities  the  popular  elements 
which  were  lacking  in  her  husband's  character.  Bishop 
Burnet,  a  famous  contemporary  preacher  and  author,  was 
the  intimate  friend  of  both  William  and  Mary,  and  has 
left  most  interesting  records  of  their  private  life. 

The  long  war  between  England  and  France  was 
brought  to  an  end  in  1697  by  the  Treaty  of  Ryswick. 
In  this  treaty,  Louis,  besides  giving  up  many  of  his  con- 
tinental conquests,  agreed  to  acknowledge  William  III. 
as  king  of  England,  and  to  do  nothing  that  would  inter- 
fere with  his  claim.  This  was  a  glorious  victory  for 
William,  and  put  an  end,  for  the  time  at  least,  to  the 
machinations  of  the  Jacobites  in  England.  The  settlers 
in  America  had  good  reason  to  be  glad  of  it,  for  it  marked 
the  close  of  that  period  of  horror  in  the  colonies  known 
as  "King  William's  War,"  which  included  the  massacre 
at  Schenectady  (16901  But  little  progress  had  been 


DEATHS  OF  MARY  AND   WILLIAM  III.         327 

made  in  the  colonies  during  the  century  that  was  now 
closing.  Our  forefathers,  still  struggling  for  a  foothold 
in  the  new  world,  were  scarcely  noticed  in  the  old; 
although  preparing  to  take,  in  less  than  another  hundred 
years,  their  place  in  the  family  of  nations. 

A  singular  project  was  started  at  the  close  of  this  war, 
for  colonizing  a  part  of  America  very  different  from  the 
sterile  coast  of  New  England.  A  Scotchman  named 
William  Paterson,  who  had  been  one  of  the  original 
founders  of  the  Bank  of  England,  persuaded  himself  and 
others  that  untold  wealth  was  to  be  had  almost  for  the 
asking  in  the  fertile  regions  about  the  Isthmus  of  Darien. 
A  company  was  organized  to  go  to  this  Land  of  Promise, 
but  the  settlers  met  fever,  pestilence,  and  starvation, 
while  Spanish  guns  finished  the  work  that  hunger  and 
destitution  had  begun.  Their  fort  in  ruins,  their  huts 
burned,  the  fertile  soil  that  they  meant  to  cultivate  filled 
with  their  graves,  the  few  survivors  found  their  way  to 
Jamaica  or  to  some  port  on  the  Atlantic  coast,  and  the 
Darien  Colony  was  a  thing  of  the  past  except  in  the  mem- 
ory of  those  who  had  duped  themselves  and  others  with 
visions  of  unearned  wealth. 

Among  the  foreign  visitors  of  this  reign  was  a  young 
barbarian  chieftain  who  was  afterward  known  as  Peter 
the  Great,  Czar  of  Muscovy.  He  eschewed  forms  and 
ceremonies,  detested  being  stared  at,  and  went  to  sleep 
at  dinner  parties  given  in  his  honor;  but  he  accomplished 
what  he  came  for,  which  was  to  study  the  English  manner 
of  ship-building.  From  the  ways  of  these  visitors,  we  get 
a  glimpse  of  the  condition  of  things  two  hundred  years 
ago  in  what  is  now  the  Russian  Empire.  John  Evelyn's 
beautiful  country-house  at  Deptford  was  hired  by  the 


328  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

king  for  his  accommodation,  because  it  was  near  the  ship- 
yard; and  the  great  Peter  amused  himself  by  driving  a 
wheelbarrow,  for  exercise,  through  Evelyn's  holly  hedge, 
while  he  and  his  followers  left  the  house  in  such  a  condi- 
tion that  it  had  to  be  completely  refurnished. 

The  history  of  Kidd,  the  pirate,  belongs  to  this  period. 

In  the  four  years  of  quiet  which  followed  the  Peace  of 
Ryswick,  William  was  not  without  annoyances  at  home. 
It  was  hard  for  him  to  steer  between  the  two  political 
parties.  The  whigs,  who  had  made  him  king,  wished  to 
limit  his  power;  the  tories  were  more  to  his  taste,  but 
many  of  them  were  Jacobites.  With  all  his  moderation 
and  good  sense  he  was  still  a  Stuart,  and  would  have 
preferred  absolute  rule  if  it  had  been  possible  to  him. 
The  Commons  thwarted  and  opposed  him  at  every  turn, 
insisting  upon  cutting  down  the  army  contrary  to  his 
judgment,  and  a  serious  break  might  have  resulted  but 
for  an  event  for  which  not  even  the  most  far-seeing  Eng- 
lishmen were  prepared.  On  the  death  of  James  II.  at 
St.  Germains  (1701),  Louis  XIV.  surprised  the  world  by 
acknowledging  his  son,  a  boy  of  thirteen,  as  James  III., 
king  of  England. 

There  was  no  question  now  of  peace.  The  army  was 
instantly  increased  again  and  put  on  an  efficient  footing. 
A  Grand  Alliance  was  formed  by  Germany,  England,  and 
Holland,  against  Louis  XIV.,  partly  in  consequence  of 
his  claiming  the  throne  of  Spain  for  his  grandson,  Philip, 
which  led  to  the  War  of  the  Spanish  Succession,  while 
England  had  her  special  grievance  in  the  insult  offered 
to  her  by  the  breaking  of  the  Treaty  of  Ryswick. 

Before  any  active  military  operations  could  be  begun, 
William,  whose  health  had  long  been  failing,  met  with  an 


DEATHS  OF  MARY  AND   WILLIAM  III.         329 

accident  which  ended  his  life.  While  he  was  riding  in 
the  park  his  horse  stumbled  over  a  mole -hill,  and  he 
fell  off  and  broke  his  collar-bone.  Being  already  very 
feeble  he  could  not  rally  from  the  injury,  and  died  after 
a  few  days  of  suffering,  in  the  fifty-second  year  of  his  age 
and  the  fourteenth  of  his  reign. 

For  an  estimate  of  William's  character,  we  may  take 
that  of  Prince  Albert,  the  lamented  husband  of  Queen 
Victoria,  who  said,  in  a  meeting  of  the  Society  for  the 
Propagation  of  the  Gospel,  "This  society  was  first  char- 
tered by  that  great  man,  William  the  Third — the  greatest 
sovereign  this  country  has  to  boast  of." 

One  conspicuous  feature  in  the  advance  of  the  English 
people  from  ignorance  toward  knowledge,  from  brutality 
toward  humanity,  from  darkness  toward  light,  is  the  rise, 
progress,  and  decline  of  the  witchcraft  delusion  and  per- 
secution. It  began  a  little  before  the  time  of  the  dis- 
covery of  America,  reached  its  height  about  1692  (the 
date  of  the  tragedy  in  Salem,  Massachusetts),  and  ex- 
hausted itself  ten  years  later  in  England,  when  the  last 
execution  took  place  in  that  country  (1702).  In  1484, 
the  pope  issued  a  bill  commanding  the  Inquisition  to 
hunt  up  and  kill  all  witches.  In  four  years,  600  persons 
were  burned  or  hanged  in  the  bishopric  of  Bamberg, 
and  QOO  in  that  of  Wurzberg.  Five  hundred  persons  were 
burned  in  Geneva  during  four  months  of  1576,  and  1000 
in  the  district  of  Como  in  1524.  In  1562,  a  statute  of 
Elizabeth  made  witchcraft  or  sorcery  a  capital  crime,  and 
James  I.  himself  wrote  a  treatise  upon  it.  During  the 
Long  Parliament,  3000  persons  are  said  to  have  been 
put  to  death.  The  cruelties  which  fill  us  with  horror  in 
the  history  of  our  own  country  are  few  in  comparison 


330  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

with  this  fearful  list.  Even  in  England,  the  madness  had 
small  sway  compared  to  its  ravages  in  Continental 
Europe  (where  it  numbered  its  victims  by  the  hundred 
thousand),  while  our  own  land  escaped  with  only  a 
scorching.  And  all  this  for  a  crime  which  no  one  ever 
did  or  could  commit,  for  it  had  no  existence. 

After  being  for  years  a  dead  letter,  the  laws  against 
witchcraft  were  repealed  by  Parliament  in  1736,  though 
in  some  European  countries  they  have  existed  to  within 
the  nineteenth  century. 


CHAPTER  XL  II. 

ANNE.      ACT    OF    SETTLEMENT.       WAR     OF    THE     SPANISH 
SUCCESSION.      UNION   WITH    SCOTLAND.       DEATH. 

JHEN  it  became  plain  that  William  III.'s  days 
were  numbered,  Parliament  was  obliged  once 
more  to  take  up  the  question  of  the  succession. 
The  Princess  Anne's  only  child,  the  Duke  of  Gloucester, 
had  just  died,  at  eleven  years  of  age,  and  no  further  pro- 
vision had  been  made.  With  the  approbation  of  the 
king,  it  was  decided  that  Sophia,  the  wife  of  the  Elector 
of  Hanover,  and  daughter  of  James  I.'s  daughter  Eliza- 
beth, should  be  queen  after  Anne,  if  the  latter  should 
leave  no  children.  The  nearest  relative  in  blood  to 
Anne  was,  of  course,  her  half-brother,  James,  son  of 
James  II.  and  Mary  of  Modena,  but  as  he  and  all  other 
possible  candidates  were  Roman  Catholics,  they  were 
out  of  the  question.  The  Electress  Sophia  had  remained 
a  Protestant  and  was  therefore  eligible;  and  her  son 


ANNE.       UNION  WITH  SCOTLAND.  331 

George,  now  forty  years  old,  would  become  king  at  her 
death. 

At  the  same  time  with  the  Act  of  Settlement,  it  was 
provided  that  every  future  sovereign  must  be  a  member 
of  the  Church  of  England.  This  put  an  end  to  all  com- 
plications regarding  Roman  Catholics. 

These  arrangements  having  been  made,  Anne,  the 
sixth  and  last  of  the  Stuarts  (for  William  and  Mary  al- 
ways count  as  one),  became  queen  (1702).  She  was 
then  thirty-eight  years  old.  The  Duke  of  Marlborough 
and  his  wife  continued  to  be  her  intimate  friends  and 
advisers;  and,  the  tories  being  somewhat  in  the  ascend- 
ant in  the  new  Parliament,  a  tory  ministry  was  formed, 
which  immediately  declared  war  against  France  and 
Spain.  The  struggle  thus  entered  upon  is  known  by  the 
name  of  "The  War  of  the  Spanish  Succession." 

Charles  II.,  King  of  Spain,  who  had  been  in  failing 
health  for  many  years,  had  died  in  1700,  leaving  no 
children.  His  eldest  sister  had  married  Louis  XIV.  of 
France,  the  latter  promising  at  the  same  time  that  the 
throne  of  Spain  should  never  be  claimed  for  herself  or 
her  descendants.  Louis  now  brought  forward  a  demand 
that  it  should  be  bestowed  on  his  grandson,  Philip  of 
Anjou,  on  the  ground  that,  as  his  queen's  dowry  had 
not  been  paid,  he  was  not  bound  by  his  part  of  the  con- 
tract. The  Emperor  of  Germany,  who  had  married  the 
younger  sister,  brought  forward  a  similar  claim  for  his 
grandson.  England  took  the  side  of  the  emperor,  and 
the  war  began. 

Marlborough  opened  the  campaign  in  Flanders,  where 
lie  took  several  towns;  Admiral  Rooke  conquered  the 
world-famed  fortress  of  Gibraltar  (1704),  which  England 


332  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

still  holds;  and  between  1704  and  1709,  Marlborough 
won  the  great  victories  of  Blenheim,  Oudenarde,  Ram- 
illies  and  Malplaquet,  in  Germany  and  Flanders.  Blen- 
heim was  the  first  great  battle  gained  by  the  English  on 
foreign  soil  since  Agincourt  (1415).  Prince  Eugene  of 
Savoy,  second  only  to  Marlborough  as  a  general,  led  the 
German  armies  which  cooperated  with  the  English  in 
these  famous  engagements.  He  also  won,  alone,  a 
splendid  victory  at  Turin  in  Sardinia,  by  which  he  drove 
the  French  out  of  Italy.  After  Marlborough's  first  great 
success,  the  English  were  wild  with  joy,  and  heaped 
honors  upon  him.  He  already  had  a  pension  for  life, 
and  in  addition  to  this  and  to  the  thanks  of  the  queen 
and  Parliament,  the  nation  gave  him  the  royal  manor  of 
Woodstock,  and  at  a  later  time  erected  upon  it  the 
superb  mansion  called  Blenheim  House,  which  is  still 
one  of  England's  palaces. 

The  next  year  (1705)  was  distinguished  by  a  bril- 
liant campaign  in  Spain,  the  land  forces  being  under 
the  Earl  of  Peterborough,  and  the  fleet  under  Sir 
Cloudesly  Shovel,  an  admiral  who  had  worked  his  way 
up  from  the  position  of  cabin-boy.  As  he  was  returning 
from  his  second  campaign  in  Spain,  the  admiral's  ship 
was  wrecked  off  the  Scilly  Islands,  and  all  on  board 
perished  (1707). 

The  same  year  saw  the  long-talked-of  "union"  between 
England  and  Scotland.  From  the  time  of  James  I. 
they  had  been  two  countries  under  one  king,  having 
separate  Parliaments  and  laws.  It  was  now  agreed,  in 
spite  of  intense  opposition  from  the  minority  in  Scotland, 
that  thereafter  the  Scottish  Parliament  should  be  given 
up,  and  that  the  country  should  be  represented  by 


ANNE.       UNION   WITH  SCOTLAND.  333 

sixteen  peers  in  the  English  House  of  Lords,  and  by 
forty-five  members  in  the  Commons.  This  measure, 
affecting  a  people  so  tenacious  of  their  independence, 
caused  riots  in  Edinburgh;  but  after  the  union  had  been 
fully  tried,  all  classes  joined  in  approving  it. 

When  the  queen  gave  her  assent  to  the  Act  of  Union, 
she  added,  "I  desire  and  expect  from  my  subjects  of 
both  nations,  that  from  henceforth  they  act  with  all  pos- 
sible respect  and  kindness  to  one  another,  that  so  it  may 
appear  to  all  the  world  they  have  hearts  disposed  to 
become  one  people."  These  are  noble  words,  and  they 
have  been  nobly  acted  upon.  From  this  time  the  for- 
mal designation  of  the  whole  country  has  been  "The 
United  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland." 

After  the  successes  of  the  combined  English  and  Ger- 
man armies,  Louis  XIV.,  whose  country  was  almost  ex- 
hausted, made  proposals  for  a  peace.  The  allies,  how- 
ever, flushed  with  victory,  demanded  such  terms  as 
he  could  not  grant  consistently  with  his  self-respect, 
and  preparations  were  made  for  continuing  the  war. 

The  trial  of  Doctor  Sacheverell,  a  clergyman  of  the 
Church  of  England,  for  a  political  offence,  is  worth  notic- 
ing as  characteristic  of  the  times.  He  was  an  advocate 
of  non-resistance  to  royal  power;  and  having  preached 
two  intemperate  sermons  on  the  subject,  the  Parliament, 
in  which  the  whigs  were  now  in  power,  impeached  and 
tried  him  for  sedition.  The  populace  took  up  his  cause 
as  their  own.  He  was  escorted  every  day  from  his  lodg- 
ings to  Westminster  Hall  by  crowds  of  people,  and  sev- 
eral dissenting  meeting-houses  were  pulled  down  by  the 
mob  in  their  fury.  When  a  sentence  of  suspension  from 
preaching  for  three  years  was  passed  on  Sacheverell, 


334  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

instead  of  the  severer  penalty,  their  joy  was  boundless,  as 
he  was  considered  the  champion  of  the  established 
church.  The  feeling  was  so  strong  against  the  whigs 
that  the  queen  was  obliged  to  change  her  ministers,  and 
in  the  next  Parliament  (1710)  the  tories  were  again  in 
the  majority. 

The  long  intimacy  between  the  queen  and  the  Duke 
and  Duchess  of  Marlborough  was  now  drawing  to  an 
end.  The  Duchess  Sarah,  a  domineering  woman  who 
had  by  her  force  of  character  completely  governed  the 
queen,  grew  so  intolerably  insolent  that  even  the  patient 
Anne  ("a  crowned  slave,"  she  called  herself)  could  en- 
dure it  no  longer.  In  the  early  days  of  their  friendship, 
while  Anne  was  still  a  princess,  she  herself  had  suggested 
that  all  ceremony  should  be  dropped  between  her  and 
her  darling  friend,  and  that  they  should  write  to  one  an- 
other (which  they  did  constantly)  under  feigned  names. 
Anne  chose  the  name  of  "Mrs.  Morley,"  and  Lady  Marl- 
borough  (it  was  before  she  became  a  Duchess)  that  of 
"Mrs.  Freeman,"  as  being  suited  to  her  character.  But 
all  their  fondness  had  passed  away,  and  the  queen's  one 
desire  was  to  get  rid  of  her  ex-favorite.  Abigail  Hill, 
afterward  Mrs.  Masham,  a  relative  of  the  duchess,  whom 
the  latter  had  placed  with  Anne  to  get  rid  of  some  of 
her  own  duties  as  mistress  of  the  robes,  gradually  sup- 
planted her  in  the  queen's  good  graces,  and  the  duke  and 
duchess  were  deprived  of  their  places  in  her  household. 
Marlborough's  political  enemies,  too,  were  stirring  against 
him  (he  was  at  this  time  a  whig),  and  the  tories  procured 
his  disgrace,  had  him  recalled  from  the  Continent  (where 
he  was  planning  another  campaign  that  should  rival  that 
of  Malplaquet)  and  dismissed  him  from  all  his  employ- 


ANNE.       UNION   WITH  SCOTLAND.  335 

ments.  They  accused  him  of  cheating  the  government, 
which  he  had  undoubtedly  done,  for  his  avarice  was  as 
great  as  his  passion  for  military  glory  and  he  hesitated 
at.no  baseness  to  gratify  it.  Upon  one  occasion,  when 
Prince  Eugene  was  visiting  London,  the  crowd  thought 
he  was  in  a  certain  sedan-chair  in  Hyde  Park,  and  began 
cheering;  but  when  they  saw  that  the  person  was  Marl- 
borough  they  changed  their  hurrahs  to  "stop  thief!" 

The  Marlboroughs  had  received,  honestly,  from  the 
queen  and  the  parliament,  grants  amounting  to  the  value 
of  at  least  five  millions  of  dollars;  but  they  were  always 
wanting  more.  One  gift  their  descendants  are  probably 
still  enjoying — a  pension  of  ^5000  a  year  settled  upon 
themselves  and  their  heirs  forever.  The  duke  was  a  re- 
markably handsome  man,  and  had  manners  of  such  won- 
derful grace  and  courtesy  that  they  fascinated  all  who 
met  him.  His  ability  as  a  soldier  has  somewhat  over- 
shadowed his  gifts  as  a  statesman;  but  he  was  remark- 
able in  both.  All  that  he  needed  to  make  him  truly 
glorious  was  a  conscience  and  a  heart. 

After  Maryborough's  recall,  the  war  dragged  slowly  on 
until  it  was  ended  by  the  peace  of  Utrecht  (1713). 
Louis  XIV.  had  so  far  gained  his  point  that  Spain  and 
the  West  Indies  were  left  in  possession  of  his  grandson, 
Philip  V.;  Anne  was  recognized  as  queen  of  Great  Brit- 
ain; England  was  to  keep  Gibraltar  and  Minorca  (one  of 
the  Balearic  Islands  gained  during  the  war)  and  received 
in  addition  the  Island  of  Newfoundland  in  North  Amer- 
ica, together  with  Acadia  (Nova  Scotia),  and  a  tract  of 
land  about  Hudson  Bay.  This  war  is  known  in  Ameri- 
can history  as  "Queen  Anne's  War,"  and  is  only  a  repe- 
tition of  the  horrors  of  Indian  massacre.  The  town  of 


336  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

Deerfield,  in  Massachusetts,  was  destroyed,  and  more 
than  a  hundred  persons  carried  away  prisoners.  An 
additional  article  of  the  treaty  gave  to  Great  Britain  the 
right,  formerly  possessed  by  the  French,  of  importing 
annually  for  thirty  years  nearly  five  thousand  negro  slaves 
to  America.  Shameful  to  relate,  this  was  the  article  of 
the  treaty  most  urgently  insisted  on.* 

Queen  Anne  died  the  year  after  the  Peace  of  Utrecht, 
aged  fifty  years,  after  a  reign  of  twelve  years.  Her  death 
was  undoubtedly  hastened  by  the  continual  brawling  of 
her  ministers  and  Parliament.  She  dreaded  a  meeting 
of  her  cabinet,  and  it  was  while  trembling  in  anticipation 
of  one  of  these  stormy  sessions  that  the  fit  of  apoplexy 
came  on  which  ended  her  life.  Her  husband,  Prince 
George  of  Denmark,  had  died  some  years  earlier. 

As  a  queen,  Anne  had  little  opportunity  to  show  per- 
sonal character,  owing  to  the  changed  system  of  govern- 
ment in  her  day,  for  now  Parliament  was  supreme.  From 
that  time,  the  saying  is  true  that  "the  monarch  reigns  but 
does  not  govern."  As  a  woman,  she  seems  to  have  com- 
manded both  respect  and  affection.  She  was  very  gen- 
erous, not  only  to  her  favorites,  but  to  others  who  needed 
help;  and  "Queen  Anne's  Bounty,"  a  fund  for  poor 
clergymen,  given  from  her  own  perquisites,  still  keeps 
her  memory  green.  She  was  the  last  sovereign  of  Eng- 

*  It  was  after  the  peace  of  Utrecht  that  the  expatriation  of  the 
French  colonists  in  Acadia  (Nova  Scotia)  took  place,  celebrated  in 
Longfellow's  "  Evangeline. "  Against  their  will  they  were  removed 
to  other  parts  of  the  country,  the  larger  part  of  them  settling  in 
what  is  now  Western  Louisiana,  where  to  this  day  they  retain  their 
language  (now  greatly  corrupted)  and,  to  a  large  extent,  their 
ancient  customs,  habits,  and  dress. 


ANNE.       UNION   WITH  SCOTLAND.  337 

land  to  touch  for  the  "  King's  Evil,"  as  Edward  the  Con- 
fessor was  the  first;  and  the  great  Doctor  Johnson  faintly 
remembered  being  taken  to  a  tall  lady  in  a  black  velvet 
gown  and  a  hood,  whose  magic  touch,  it  was  hoped, 
would  remove  the  curse  of  scrofula. 

The  most  brilliant  statesmen  of  Queen  Anne's  reign 
were  Harley  (Lord  Oxford)  and  St.  John  (Lord  Boling- 
broke).  In  science  there  was  Sir  Isaac  Newton,  whom 
Queen  Anne  had  the  honor  of  knighting;  Pope  was  just 
beginning  to  be  known  as  a  poet,  and  Addison  and  Steele 
were  busy  with  the  "Spectator."  The  industrious  Defoe 
had  not  yet  written  "Robinson  Crusoe,"  nor  had  Dean 
Swift  begun  "Gulliver's  Travels."  The  reign  of  Anne  is 
regarded,  next  to  Queen  Elizabeth's  and  Queen  Vic- 
toria's, as  being  the  most  brilliant  period  of  our  English 
literature. 

The  Electress  Sophia  of  Hanover,  who  by  the  Act  of 
Settlement  was  appointed  the  next  in  succession,  died 
about  ten  days  before  the  queen. 


CHAPTER  XL  III. 

GEORGE    I.      INVASION    OF   THE   PRETENDER.       SOUTH -SEA 
BUBBLE.       DEATH    OF   THE    KING.      GEORGE    II. 

fEORGE  I.,  Elector  of   Hanover   and   son    of 
Sophia,  was  now  king  of  England  (1714^.   The 
531    people  only  half- liked  the  idea  of  receiving 
a  German  prince  who  could  not  speak  English*  and  was 

*  He  was  obliged  to  speak  with  one  of  his  ministers,  Sir  Robert 
Walpole,  in  Latin,  as  he  knew  no  English  and  the  Premier  no 
German. 

22 


338  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

*• 

too  old  to  learn  (he  was  fifty-four),  but  anything  was 
better  than  a  Roman-Catholic  Stuart.  At  first  sight  the 
English  were  prejudiced  against  him.  He  was  awkward 
and  undignified  in  appearance  and  uncultivated  in  mind, 
so  that  he  seemed  ill-fitted  to  come  into  a  court  which 
was  one  of  the  most  witty  and  graceful  in  Europe. 
George  I.,  however,  had  so  many  good  qualities  that  he 
soon  won  the  approval,  though  never  the  affection,  of  his 
subjects.  He  was  truthful,  business  like,  and  just,  and 
perhaps  it  was  fortunate  for  Engand  that  his  interest  was 
largely  in  Hanover,  so  that  he  left  his  new  kingdom  ta 
govern  itself  through  its  representatives.  The  family  of 
Hanover,  to  which  the  Georges  belonged,  is  often  called 
the  "House  of  Brunswick,"  the  Electors  of  Hanover 
being  at  that  time  also  Dukes  of  Brunswick. 

George  I.  has  left  an  amusing  account  of  English 
customs  in  a  letter  written  by  him  at  this  time.  "This- 
is  a  strange  country,"  he  says.  "The  morning  after  my 
arrival  at  St.  James's,  I  looked  out  of  the  windo»  and 
saw  a  park  which  they  said  was  mine.  The  next  day,. 
Lord  Chetwynd  sent  me  a  fine  brace  of  carp  out  of  my 
own  canal;  and  I  was  told  I  must  give  five  guineas  to  his 
servant  for  bringing  me  my  own  carp  out  of  my  own 
canal  in  my  own  park."  The  king  was  very  economical, 
and  would  rather  have  bought  his  carp  in  the  market  at 
a  much  lower  price. 

"The  tory  party  is  gone,"  wrote  Lord  Bolingbroke 
after  Queen  Anne's  death.  George  I.  at  once  formed 
a  whig  ministry  of  which  Lord  Townshend  was  the 
head.  The  whigs  began  impeaching  several  of  the  most 
noted  of  Anne's  ministers,  among  them  Lords  Oxford 
and  Bolingbroke  and  the  Duke  of  Ormond;  but  as  the 


GEORGE  I.       DEATH.       GEORGE  II.  339 

accusation  was  dictated  only  by  party  spite,  nothing  fur- 
ther came  of  it.  Maryborough  was  reinstated  in  his 
position  as  captain-general  of  the  forces.  It  was  neces- 
sary, however,  to  keep  a  close  watch  upon  him,  as  he 
was  soon  found  to  be  in  correspondence  with  the  Pre- 
tender,* or,  as  he  was  more  often  called,  the  Chevalier 
of  St.  George.  The  latter  lost  no  time  in  sending  forth 
a  manifesto  asserting  his  right  to  the  English  crown,  and 
the  old  struggle  began  once  more,  his  friends  in  Scotland 
exciting  an  insurrection  there  in  his  favor. 

Louis  XIV.  of  France  died  in  1715,  and  the  Preten- 
der, who  had  looked  for  aid  from  him,  was  disappointed 
in  his  hopes.  The  Regent  Orleans  refused  any  open 
assistance,  not  wishing  to  go  to  war  with  England,  and 
James  was  obliged  to  depend  on  his  Scottish  friends. 
The  Earl  of  Mar,  with  some  others,  raised  a  force  of  five 
thousand  men  for  his  support,  and  was  joined  by  the 
Duke  of  Ormond,  one  of  the  dismissed  English  tory 
leaders.  The  campaign  was  very  ill-planned.  Part  of 
the  army,  under  Mar,  was  defeated  at  Sheriff-Muir,  near 
Stirling,  by  Argyle;  another  part,  marching  southward 
under  command  of  a  Mr.  Forster,  surrendered  at  Preston 
in  Lancashire.  These  two  defeats  put  an  end  to  the 
Pretender's  hopes  in  Scotland  (1715).  James  Stuart 
himself  was  a  most  unsuitable  person  to  be  the  centre 
of  a  rebellion.  He  was  haggard  and  melancholy  look- 
ing and  so  silent  that  some  of  the  soldiers  tauntingly 
asked  whether  he  could  speak;  he  was  tame  and  spirit- 
less, and  when  he  did  talk,  it  was  to  complain  of  his 
misfortunes.  Abandoning  his  followers,  he  sailed  se- 

*  The  son  of  James  II.  "Pretender"  in  this  sense  means  a 
claimant;  not  an  impostor. 


340  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

cretly  with  Mar  for  Paris,  while  many  of  his  adherents 
were  taken  and  executed.  Lord  Derwentwater  and 
Lord  Kenmure  were  beheaded  on  Tower  Hill,  while 
Lord  Nithisdale  escaped  by  changing  clothes  with  his 
wife  in  the  prison.  After  this,  England  had  rest  from 
the  Pretender  for  thirty  years.  The  regent  of  France 
allied  himself  with  England,  and  James  was  obliged  to 
seek  an  asylum  elsewhere.  He  married  the  grand-daugh- 
ter of  John  Sobieski,  the  late  king  of  Poland,  and  thence- 
forward lived  mainly  in  Rome. 

An  important  law  called  the  "Septennial  Act"  was 
passed  by  Parliament  in  the  following  year  (1716).  By 
this,  the  same  Parliament  was  allowed  to  sit  for  seven 
years,  though  always  retaining  its  right  to  dissolve  itself 
at  pleasure. 

A  bill  had  been  passed  in  Queen  Anne's  reign  forbid- 
ding the  sovereign  of  England  to  leave  the  country  with- 
out consent  of  Parliament.  It  was  now  repealed,  leaving 
George  I.  free  to  go  to  his  own  dominions  of  Hanover 
whenever  he  pleased.  His  oldest  son,  George,  Prince  of 
Wales,  was  left  in  charge  of  the  kingdom,  though  without 
the  title  of  Regent,  as  he  was  not  on  good  terms  with 
his  father. 

During  the  premiership  of  Lord  Stanhope,  successor 
to  Lord  Townshend,  England  drifted  into  a  war  with 
Spain,  brought  about  through  a  quarrel  between  Han- 
over and  Charles  XII.  of  Sweden  on  account  of  some 
disputed  territory.  To  annoy  the  Elector,  Charles  agreed 
with  Cardinal  Alberoni,  the  Spanish  minister,  to  proclaim 
James  Stuart  as  James  III.  of  England,  which  was  done 
in  Madrid,  the  Pretender  having  gone  there  for  the 
purpose. 


GEORGE  I.       DEATH.       GEORGE  II.  341 

Holland  and  France  now  entered  into  an  alliance  with 
England  against  Spain,  and  this  being  afterward  joined 
by  the  emperor,  is  known  by  the  name  of  the  Quadruple 
Alliance.  The  death  of  Charles  XII.  (1718),  and  the 
defeat  of  the  Spanish  fleet  by  Admiral  Byng  (1719),  put 
an  end  to  the  war. 

The  event  occupying  most  attention  in  England  in  this 
reign,  was  the  famous  South -Sea  Bubble* — an  attempt 
to  pay  off  the  national  debt,  which  now  amounted  to 
^53,000,000,  by  means  of  a  stock  company  organized 
to  trade  with  the  Spaniards  in  South  America  (1717). 
The  government  gave  its  sanction  to  the  scheme  by 
allowing  its  stock  to  be  exchanged  for  the  Company's 
stock.  Speculation  ran  wild;  the  stock  rose  to  900  per 
cent  A  similiar  scheme,  originated  by  John  Law,  was 
at  the  same  time  running  the  same  mad  career  in  Paris ; 
and  the  thrill  of  it  even  reached  America,  and  was  felt  in 
Kaskaskia  and  Fort  Chartres  in  Illinois,  as  well  as  in 
New  Orleans.  At  last  the  bubble  burst;  the  stock  could 
no  longer  be  sold  at  any  price,  and  many  of  those  who 
had  invested  their  all  in  it  were  ruined.  The  king  and 
the  ministry  were  severely  blamed  for  the  countenance 
they  had  given  to  this  unfortunate  mania.  Lord  Stan- 
hope, the  premier,  fell  a  victim  to  the  excitement.  Being 
violently  attacked  on  the  subject  in  Parliament,  and  de- 
fending himself  with  equal  vehemence,  he  was  seized 
with  a  fit  of  apoplexy  and  died  on  the  following  day 
(1721).  For  the  next  twenty-one  years,  the  real  head  of 
the  government  was  Sir  Robert  Walpole. 

Walpole's  policy  was  one  of  peace.     He  said,   "The 

*The  Southern  Atlantic  Ocean  was  then  often  called  "  The  South 
Sea"  as  the  Caribbean  Sea  was  called  "The  Spanish  Main." 


342  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

most  pernicious  circumstances  in  which  this  country  can 
be,  are  those  of  war;  as  we  must  be  losers  while  it  lasts 
and  can  not  be  great  gainers  when  it  ends."  He  was 
equally  a  lover  of  quiet  at  home.  His  aim  was  to  avoid 
everything  that  would  lead  to  variance,  and  to  conduct 
all  affairs  with  the  least  possible  friction.  He  is  charged 
with  saying,  in  actions  if  not  in  words,  "Every  man  has 
his  price,"  not  always  in  money,  but  in  something  which 
the  man  wan  is;  and  he  did  not  scruple  to  employ  bribery 
to  accomplish  his  ends.  Such  an  administration  can 
have  but  little  history. 

Some  disturbance  took  place  in  Ireland  which,  under 
a  less  skilful  minister,  might  have  led  to  an  insurrection. 
As  small  coin  there  was  exceedingly  scarce,  a  contract 
was  granted  to  a  man  named  Wood  to  coin  half-pence 
and  farthings  to  a  certain  amount,  his  profit  to  come 
from  the  labor  employed  on  them.  The  Irish,  excited 
by  factious  politicians,  were  furious  at  this  measure, 
which  they  fancied  was  intended  in  some  way  to  impose 
upon  them.  Their  anger  was  increased  by  a  series  of  let- 
ters signed  M.  B.  Drapier,  written  for  political  purposes 
by  the  celebrated  Dean  Swift;  and  although  the  gov- 
ernment had  Wood's  half-pence  tested,  and  found  them 
fully  up  to  the  standard,  the  unreasoning  rage  of  the 
people  was  so  great  that  Walpole  thought  it  best  to 
annul  the  contract,  giving  Wood  a  compensation  in 
money. 

George  I.,  like  William  III.,  was  more  attached  to  his 
native  country  than  to  England,  and  made  frequent  visits 
there.  On  one  of  his  journeys,  he  was  attacked  with 
apoplexy,  while  in  his  traveling-carriage,  and,  refusing 
to  stop  on  the  road,  was  taken  to  his  brother's  palace  at 


GEORGE  I.       DEATH.       GEORGE  II.  343 

Osnabriick.  When  the  carriage  reached  its  destination, 
King  George  was  dead.  His  wife,  Sophia  Dorothea  of 
Zell,  had  never  been  in  England.  This  unfortunate  lady 
had  been  for  nearly  twenty  years  a  prisoner,  on  account 
•of  conduct  which  may  have  been  nothing  more  than 
imprudent.  She  died  a  few  months  before  her  husband, 
and  a  story  was  long  current  that  a  paper  had  been 
thrown  into  his  carriage,  purporting  to  be  a  letter  from 
her,  summoning  him  to  meet  her  within  a  year  and  a 
•day.  The  shock  of  this,  it  is  said,  brought  on  the  apo- 
plexy which  ended  his  life. 

George  II.  was  taking  his  afternoon  nap  when  Sir 
Robert  Walpole,  booted  and  spurred  from  a  hasty  ride, 
came  into  the  room  and  insisted  on  waking  his  majesty 
to  tell  him  the  news.  The  new  king  did  not  believe  it 
at  first,  and  when  he  was  at  last  made  to  understand  the 
fact,  the  minister  asked  his  wishes  in  regard  to  summon- 
ing a  council.  "  Go  and  get  your  directions  from  Sir 
Spencer  Compton,"  answered  the  king,  bluntly,  the  in- 
ference being  that  he  meant  to  select  the  person  named, 
as  his  prime  minister.  Sir  Spencer  Compton,  who  had 
been  the  prince's  treasurer  during  George  III.'s  lifetime, 
\vas  a  dull,  plodding  man,  always  ready  to  do  his  best, 
but  with  no  genius  for  government.  He  had  not  the 
faintest  idea  of  what  he  ought  to  do,  and  asked  Sir  Rob- 
ert to  write  a  speech  for  him  to  give  to  the  king  to  read 
in  the  Council.  The  ex-premier  readily  did  this,  and 
the  new  one  took  it  to  the  king.  The  latter  made  some 
objection  to  it,  and  Sir  Spencer  was  obliged  to  have  re- 
course to  Walpole  again,  for  he  did  not  know  how  to 
alter  the  document.  Queen  Caroline,  George  II.'s  wife, 
a  handsome  woman  of  great  wit  and  spirit,  observed  to 


344  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

her  husband  that  it  was  a  pity  to  choose  a  man  for  min- 
ister in  whose  own  judgment  his  predecessor  was  the 
fittest  person  to  perform  the  duties  of  the  office;  and  as 
the  king  was  ruled  by  her  in  everything,  Sir  Robert  was 
soon  reinstated.  The  latter  and  the  queen  remained 
firm  friends,  and  really  governed  the  country  between 
them;  while  they  managed  the  ignorant  little  king  so 
well  that  he  thought  all  the  while  he  was  doing  it  himself. 

George  II.  was  now  forty-four  years  old.  He  could 
speak  English  fluently,  though  he  did  it  incorrectly  and 
with  a  vulgar  accent.  He  had  a  violent  temper,  but 
possessed  the  manly  virtues  of  courage  and  a  love  of 
justice. 

In  1732  (the  year  of  George  Washington's  birth), 
General  James  Oglethorpe  procured  a  patent  from  the 
king  for  colonizing  a  strip  of  country  in  North  America, 
between  the  Savannah  River  and  the  northern  boundary 
of  Florida,  the  latter  country  belonging  to  Spain.  His 
object  was  to  found  an  asylum  for  imprisoned  debtors* 
and  other  helpless  poor,  where  they  might,  by  thrift, 
retrieve  their  fortunes.  The  expedition  left  England  the 
next  year  (1733),  and  the  territory,  named  Georgia  in 
honor  of  King  George  II. ,  was  the  last  settled  of  the 
thirteen  English  colonies  in  America. 

•The  cruelties  inflicted  upon  debtors  in  the  Fleet  and  Marshalsea 
prisons  are  almost  beyond  belief,  and  we  could  not  credit  them  but 
that  they  were  proved  by  government  investigation. 


WAR  WITH  SPAIN.       YOUNG  PRETENDER.     345 


CHAPTER  XL IV. 

WAR   WITH    SPAIN.       AUSTRIAN   SUCCESSION.      YOUNG 
PRETENDER.      QUEBEC. 

JHE  Spaniards  had  been  from  the  first  jealous  of 
the  new  settlement  of  Georgia,  which  they 
thought  would  interfere  with  their  trade,  and 
they  began  to  search  English  ships  for  prohibited  goods, 
as  the  English  themselves  after  the  Revolution  searched 
ours  for  British  sailors.  A  story  told  by  a  man  named 
Jenkins  increased  the  popular  ill-feeling.  He  said  that 
a  Spanish  vessel  overhauled  his  schooner,  and  the  cap- 
tain, not  finding  anything  contraband,  tortured  him  in 
various  ways  to  make  him  tell  what  he  had  hidden 
away,  and  finally  tore  off  his  ear  and  gave  it  to  him, 
saying  that  he  would  have  served  the  king  just  so  if  he 
had  caught  him.  Jenkins  carried  the  ear  about  with 
him,  wrapped  in  cotton,  and  although  some  persons 
believed  that  he  had  lost  it  in  the  pillory,  the  assertion 
helped  to  increase  the  anger  against  Spain.  The  war 
was  carried  on  mostly  by  the  navy.  Admiral  Vernon 
took  Porto  Bello,  on  the  Isthmus  of  Darien,  while  Com- 
modore Anson  captured  many  prizes  at  sea,  and  in  the 
course  of  his  voyage  sailed  around  the  globe  (1740-4). 

While  this  war  was  going  on,  England  became  engaged 
in  another,  contrary  to  the  advice  and  wishes  of  Sir 
Robert  Walpole,  who  in  consequence  resigned  his  office 
(1742).  Queen  Caroline  had  died  five  years  before. 
The  country  had  grown  rich  and  prosperous  under  Wai- 
pole's  peaceful  administration,  and  the  king  parted  from 


346  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

him  with  sincere  regret,  creating  him  at  the  same  time 
Earl  of  Orford. 

The  new  quarrel  was  called  "The  War  of. the  Austrian 
Succession,"  and  turned  on  the  question  whether  or  not 
Maria  Theresa,  the  daughter  of  the  late  emperor  Charles 
VI.,  should  reign  over  his  hereditary  dominions  of 
Austria  and  Hungary.  He  had  provided  for  this,  as  he 
thought,  by  an  agreement  called  the  "Pragmatic  Sanc- 
tion," which  had  been  signed  by  the  chief  powers  in 
Europe;  but  Louis  XV.  of  France,  disregarding  this 
promise,  supported  the  Elector  of  Bavaria  as  successor 
to  Charles  VI.,  and  was  joined  by  Frederic  II.  of  Prussia 
(Frederic  the  Great),  who  began  his  aggressions  by  taking 
from  Maria  Theresa  the  province  of  Silesia.  England 
sided  with  Austria,  and  as  the  Hungarian  queen  pacified 
Frederic  II.  by  giving  up  her  claim  to  Silesia,  the  latter 
retired  from  the  war,  leaving  England  and  Austria  to 
fight  it  out  with  France  and  Bavaria.  The  French  were 
defeated  by  George  II.  at  the  battle  of  Dettingen,  the 
last  at  which  an  English  king  ever  fought  iri  person. 
King  George,  however,  showed  such  partiality  for  his 
Hanoverian  troops  and  officers,  that  he  lost  favor  with 

the  English,  and  the  cry  "No  Hanoverian  king!"*  began 

— • 

*  The  people  had  previously  objected  to  his  spending  so  much 
time  in  Hanover,  and  during  one  of  his  absences  the  following 
notice  was  stuck  up  on  the  gate  of  St.  James's  Palace:  "Lost  or 
strayed  out  of  this  house,  a  man  who  has  left  a  wife  and  six  children 
on  the  parish.  Whoever  will  give  any  tidings  of  him  shall  receive 
four  shillings  and  sixpence  reward.  N.B. — This  reward  will  not  be 
increased,  nobody  judging  him  to  deserve  a  Crown."  (The  Eng- 
lish "crown"  is  a  coin  worth  five  shillings).  A  popular  caricature 
represented  the  Hanoverian  White  Horse,  in  a  cocked  hat  and 
jack-boots,  riding  the  British  Lion. 


WAR  WITH  SPAIN.       YOUNG  PRETENDER.     347 

to  be  frequently  heard.  Two  years  afterward,  the  king's 
second  son,  the  Duke  of  Cumberland,  was  defeated  by 
the  French  under  Marshal  Saxe  in  the  battle  of  Fontenoy 
(1745).  He  was  recalled  to  England  on  account  of  a 
new  danger.  France  once  more  took  up  the  cause  of 
the  exiled  Stuarts,  and  another  Jacobite  invasion  was 
planned,  this  time  to  be  led  by  Prince  Charles  Edward, 
son  of  the  Old  Pretender.  The  latter  was  still  living, 
but  was  more  spiritless  than  ever,  and  it  was  thought 
that  his  son,  now  twenty-five  years  old,  would  have  better 
success  in  rallying  the  friends  of  the  cause.  Charles 
Edward  sailed  for  Scotland  with  a  few  followers,  and  on 
his  arrival  there  was  joined  by  several  Highland  chief- 
tains, among  whom  was  the  celebrated  Cameron  of 
Lochiel.*  The  "Young  Chevalier,"  as  his  friends  loved 
to  call  him,  was  the  very  reverse  of  his  father.  Well 
formed  and  extremely  handsome,  with  fair  hair  which 
•curled  in  natural  ringlets,  and  the  blue  eyes  of  the  Saxon, 
he  had,  in  addition  to  these  gifts  of  appearance,  a  manner 
winning  though  dignified,  and  a  romantic  sense  of  honor. 
The  more  prudent  among  the  Scots  felt  that  he  was 
destined  to  fail,  and  hesitated  to  join  him;  but  he  moved 
resolutely  on  with  such  forces  as  he  could  command, 
and  at  first  met  with  brilliant  success.  He  took  several 
towns,  and  caused  his  father  to  be  proclaimed  at  Edin- 
burgh under  the  name  of  James  VIII.  of  Scotland.  He 
also  gained  a  victory  over  Sir  John  Cope  at  Preston 
Pans,  after  which  the  Highlanders  left  him  and  went 
home  with  their  booty,  and  he  spent  some  time  in  recruit- 
ing his  army.  Having  collected  what  he  thought  a  suffi- 
cient force,  he  invaded  England,  marching  as  far  south- 

*  See  Campbell's  poem,  "Lochiel's  Warning." 


348  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

ward  as  Derby.  Here  the  Scottish  army  insisted  on 
retreating,  alleging  that  there  had  been  neither  an  Eng- 
lish uprising  nor  an  invasion  from  France,  on  both  of 
which  they  had  counted;  and  the  prince,  after  trying  in 
vain  both  entreaties  and  threats,  was  obliged  to  return 
with  them  to  Scotland. 

The  English  were  at  last  aroused  to  a  sense  of  their 
danger,  and  sent  a  force  to  Scotland  under  the  Duke  of 
Cumberland  (son  of  George  II.)  which  met  that  of  the 
Young  Pretender  on  Culloden  Moor,  near  Inverness, 
and  inflicted  on  it  a  crushing  defeat  (1746).*  Charles 
Edward  escaped,  and  remained  in  concealment  for  five 
months;  and  though  a  reward  of  ^"30,000  was  set  upon 
his  head,  and  several  hundred  persons  knew  of  his  hiding 
places,  he  reached  France  in  safety.  One  of  those  who 
took  care  of  him  in  his  concealment  was  Flora  Macdon- 
ald,  celebrated  in  Sir  Walter  Scott's  novel  of  "Waverley," 
under  the  name  of  Flora  Maclvor.  (She  is  said  to  have 
come  to  America,  and  to  have  died  in  North  Carolina 
within  this  century.) 

The  Duke  of  Cumberland  stained  his  military  reputa- 
tion by  the  most  revolting  cruelty  after  the  battle  of  Cul- 
loden. He  had  his  prisoners  shot  in  cold  blood,  and 
allowed  his  soldiers  such  inhuman  license  that  he  was 
long  remembered  in  Scotland  under  the  title  of  "The 

*  The  romantic  aspect  of  this  uprising  in  the  view  of  the  Jacob- 
ites may  be  judged  from  this  stanza  of  a  popular  song,  "The  Scottish, 
Cavalier : " 

He  was  the  first  to  draw  the  sword  when  the  standard  waved  abroad: 
He  was  the  first  to  charge  the  foe  on  Preston's  bloody  sod: 
And  ever  in  the  van  of  fight  the  foremost  still  he  trod, 
Until  on  bleak  Culloden's  height  he  gave  his  soul  to  God: 
Like  a  fine  old  Scottish  Cavalier,  all  of  the  olden  time. 


WAR  WITH  SPAIN.       YOUhG  PRETENDER.     349 

Butcher."  When  he  returned  to  London,  however,  there 
was  nothing  but  praise  for  him;  he  received  a  pension 
of  ^40,000  a  year,  in  addition  to  his  other  revenues, 
and  the  thanks  of  numerous  bodies  of  citizens.  Such  of 
the  unhappy  participants  in  the  rebellion  as  had  escaped 
"The  Butcher"  were  speedily  brought  to  trial,  and  about 
eighty  of  them,  including  Lords  Kilmarnock,  Balmerino, 
and  Lovat,  were  executed  with  all  the  barbarities  of  the 
usual  sentence  for  high-treason  (1746). 

The  future  fortunes  of  Charles  Edward,  "The  Young 
Chevalier,"  were  not  in  harmony  with  this  beginning. 
Being  obliged  to  leave  France,  he  wandered  from  place 
to  place,  becoming  constantly  more  dissipated  and 
disreputable.  He  was  married  to  the  Countess  Louise 
von  Stolberg,  whom  he  treated  so  ill  that  she  Wc;s 
obliged  to  separate  from  him,  and  at  last  he  closed  his 
discreditable  life  in  Italy,  a  poor,  despised  drunkard. 
His  brother  Henry  entered  the  Romish  Church,  was 
created  by  the  pope,  Cardinal  York,  and  died  at  Rome 
a  very  old  man,  in  1807.  With  him  ended  the  male 
line  of  the  Stuarts. 

As  usually  happened  when  there  was  war  going  on  in 
Europe  between  France  and  England,  a  "sympathetic" 
war  took  place  between  the  French  and  English  colonies 
in  America.  The  one  which  corresponded  to  the  War 
of  the  Austrian  Succession  was  called  here  "King 
George's  War."  Its  main  incident  was  the  taking 
^1745),  by  a  few  regiments  of  New-England  militia 
under  Governor  Shirley,  of  the  fortress  of  Louisburg, 
a  place  so  strong  that  it  was  called  "The  Gibraltar  of 
America."  The  Peace  of  Aix  la  Chapelle  (1748)  closed 
the  war,  and  all  conquered  places  were  returned.  The 


350  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

indignation  of  the  New  Englanders  at  having  the  for- 
tress of  Louisburg,  which  they  had  purchased  with  their 
blood  and  treasure,  taken  away  from  them  by  a  stroke 
of  the  pen,  was  so  great  that  the  day  of  its  surrender 
was  called  "a  black  day,"  not  to  be  named  without  a. 
feeling  of  disgrace. 

England  had  now  another  breathing-spell  of  peace. 
After  the  retirement  of  Sir  Robert  Walpole,  the  most 
prominent  names  among  English  statesmen  are  those  of 
William  Pitt  (afterward  the  great  Lord  Chatham)  and 
Lord  Chesterfield.  The  latter  introduced  in  Parliament 
one  of  the  most  important  bills  of  the  century — namely, 
that  of  the  reformation  of  the  calendar.  Until  the 
sixteenth  century,  the  calendar  prepared  by  order  of 
Julius  Caesar,  called  the  "Julian  year,"  had  been  every- 
where used.  Pope  Gregory  XIII.,  knowing  that  it  was 
ten  days  out  of  the  way,  had  reformed  this  (1582),  and 
the  new  reckoning  had  been  accepted  by  all  Continental 
Europe  except  Russia  and  Sweden.  By  the  middle  of 
the  eighteenth  century,  the  error  had  grown  to  eleven 
days,  and  it  was  arranged  in  England  that  the  second 
day  of  September,  1752,  was  to  be  counted  as  the 
fourteenth,*  in  order  to  bring  the  calendar  into  harmony 
with  the  correct  time.  The  lower  classes  of  people, 
thinking  that  they  had  been  cheated,  thronged  the 
streets  crying  out,  "Give  us  back  our  eleven  days!"  and 
threatening  violence,  but  were  pacified  without  blood- 
shed. By  the  same  Act  of  Parliament,  the  beginning  of 
the  legal  year  was  changed  from  April  25  to  January  i. 
Sweden  followed  the  example  of  England  the  next  year, 

*  This  seems  to  make  a  change  of  twelve  days  instead  of  eleven. 


WAR  WITH  SPAIN.      YOUNG  PRETENDER.     351 

while  in  Russia  the  old  style,  now  twelve  days  out  of 
date,  is  still  in  use. 

The  American  colonies,  during  all  this  time,  had 
been  gradually  increasing  in  importance  and  prosperity, 
and  in  1754,  a  convention  of  delegates  met  at  Albany  to 
consider  a  plan  proposed  by  Dr.  Benjamin  Franklin  of 
Pennsylvania,  for  a  union  of  the  thirteen  colonies  for 
mutual  protection  and  defence.  The  plan  was  adopted 
by  the  convention  and  submitted  to  the  colonial  assem- 
blies and  to  the  British  cabinet  It  met  with  the  usual 
fate  of  moderate  measures;  the  colonies  refused  it 
because  it  left  too  much  in  the  power  of  the  king;  the 
English  government  would  not  sanction  it  because  it 
was  too  democratic.  So  the  first  effort  at  American 
union  fell  to  the  ground. 

In  the  same  year  (1754),  hostilities  began  between  the 
French  and  English  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic.  The 
latter  had  made  some  settlements  on  the  Ohio  River; 
and  as  the  French  claimed  all  this  part  of  the  country, 
they  resented  the  intrusion,  and  interfered  with  the 
settlers.  General  Braddock,  who  was  sent  from  Eng- 
land to  the  assistance  of  the  colonists,  was  surprised 
and  defeated  by  the  French  and  Indians  near  Fort  du 
Quesne,  in  Pennsylvania  (1755),  where  the  British 
troops  were  saved  from  destruction  only  by  the  skill  of 
George  Washington,  then  a  major  of  Virginia  volunteers. 
The  war  dragged  on  for  some  years  longer,  there  being 
no  efficient  commanders  on  the  side  of  the  English 
until  the  ministry  of  William  Pitt  put  new  vigor  into- 
the  administration.  Under  General  Amherst,  Louisburg 
was  retaken  (1758)  after  a  siege  of  seven  weeks,  and 
Fort  du  Quesne,  being  abandoned  by  the  French,  was 


352  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

occupied  by  General  John  Forbes,  and  named  Fort  Pitt, 
in  honor  of  the  statesman  whose  energetic  measures  had 
changed  the  course  of  the  war.  The  fort  fell  into  decay, 
but  the  city  which  grew  up  around  it  still  keeps  the 
name  of  Pittsburg.  In  the  following  year,  the  glorious 
victory  of  Wolfe  on  the  Heights  of  Abraham,  near 
Quebec,  practically  ended  the  war,  though  peace  was 
not  formally  made  until  four  years  afterward.  General 
Wolfe  and  the  French  commander,  Montcalm,  were 
both  killed  in  the  action. 

The  island  of  Minorca,  it  will  be  remembered,  had 
been  ceded  to  the  English  by  the  Treaty  of  Utrecht. 
Although  there  had  been  no  declaration  of  war  between 
France  and  England,  the  English  had  since  made  some 
piratical  attacks  on  French  vessels.  In  retaliation  for 
this,  the  French  attacked  Port  Mahon,  in  Minorca,  which 
Admiral  Byng  had  orders  to  defend.  He  sailed  to  this 
place,  but  thinking  the  French  fleet  superior  to  his  own, 
resolved  not  to  attack  it,  and  left  the  island  to  its  fate. 
The  fort  surrendered  (1756)  after  making  the  best 
defence  it  could.  The  popular  clamor  against  Byng 
was  so  violent  that  he  was  tried  by  court-martial  and 
shot  on  the  quarter-deck  of  his  ship. 

Among  the  influences  now  affecting  the  great  body 
of  Englishmen,  who  cared  little  for  the  foreign  wars 
which  brought  them  no  profit  and  but  a  faint  impression 
of  sharing  in  the  national  glory,  was  the  new  impulse 
given  to  the  religious  life  of  the  people  by  the  preaching 
of  John  Wesley.  He  was  afterward  joined  by  his 
brother  Charles  and  by  George  Whitefield,  and  both  in 
England  and  America  they  tried  to  arouse  a  more 
earnest  and  personal  interest  in  religion.  They  wished 


WAR  WITH  SPAIN.       YOUNG  PRETENDER.     353 

to  raise  it  from  dead  formality  to  a  true  spiritual  life; 
and  when  they  were  not  allowed  the  use  of  churches  in 
which  to  address  their  followers  and  fellow-laborers, 
•they  held  meetings  in  the  open  air,  where  thousands  at 
a  time  were  brought  under  the  spell  of  their  eloquence. 
The  poorer  classes,  especially,  yielded  eagerly  to  the 
emotions  inspired  by  their  fervor,  and  an  electric  thrill 
seemed  to  run  through  the  nation.  Wesley  himself  had 
no  intention  of  separating  from  the  Church  of  England; 
but  his  successors  developed  his  plan  for  an  organized 
religious  life  into  the  great  movement  now  known  as 
Methodism. 


CHAPTER  XLV. 
SEVEN-YEARS'  WAR.     INDIA.     DEATH  OF  GEORGE  n. 

STAMP   ACT.       LETTERS    OF   JUNIUS. 

JIGHT  years  after  the  Peace  of  Aix  la  Cha- 
pelle,  France  and  Austria  leagued  together 
for  the  destruction  of  Prussia,  against  which 
each  had  some  grievances.  Russia,  Saxony,  and  Sweden 
afterward  joined  this  alliance.  Frederic  II.,  king  of 
Prussia,  having  had  private  notice  of  their  intentions, 
did  not  wait  to  be  attacked,  but  acted  on  the  offensive 
by  seizing  Dresden,  the  capital  of  Saxony.  This  was 
the  beginning  of  what  was  afterward  known  as  the 
Seven-Years' War  (1756-63). 

In  such  a  condition  of  affairs,  England  naturally  took 
part  with  Prussia.     It  was  not  only  to  preserve  the  bal- 
ance of  power  and  because  the  kings  of  the  two  coun- 
23 


354  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

tries  were  own  cousins  that  she  did  so,  but  because  the 
king  was  in  danger  of  losing  his  electorate  of  Hanover. 
The  Duke  of  Cumberland  was  sent  for  the  defence  of 
that  country,  but  the  French,  entering  it  with  a  large 
army,  compelled  him  to  retreat  and  to  sign  the  "Con- 
vention of  Kloster- Seven"  (1757),  by  which  he  agreed 
practically  to  disband  his  army.  When  the  duke  re- 
turned to  England,  his  father  treated  him  so  coldly  that 
he  gave  up  all  his  employments  and  retired  in  disgust 
to  private  life. 

In  addition  to  her  wars  on  the  Continent  and  in 
America.  England  was  carrying  on  a  vigorous  contest  ia 
India.  That  country  was  still  largely  under  the  control 
of  native  rulers,  with  whom  the  French  allied  themselves 
against  the  English.  As  early  as  1751,  Robert  Clive,  a 
young  man  in  the  East-India  Company's  service,  had 
entered  the  army,  and  now,  with  a  mere  handful  of 
Englishmen  and  a  few  Sepoys,  he  attacked  and  took 
the  town  of  Arcot  from  the  French,  and  gradually  ex- 
tended the  English  rule.  In  1756  occurred  the  tragedy 
of  the  "Black  Hole"  in  Calcutta.  The  nabob  Surajah 
Dowlah,  who  had  long  been  jealous  of  the  English, 
seized  Fort  William  in  Calcutta,  and  shut  up  one  hun- 
dred and  forty-six  prisoners  in  a  loathsome  dungeon  so- 
small  that  they  could  scarcely  stand  in  it.  Here  he  kept 
them  through  a  hot  August  night.  In  the  morning,  after 
suffering  untold  torments,  only  twenty-three  of  them 
were  left  alive.  The  next  year  (1757)  Clive,  having 
collected  a  small  army  of  English  and  Sepoys,  retook 
Calcutta,  and  later  in  the  year  fought  the  memorable 
battle  of  Plassey,  where  with  three  thousand  men  he 
defeated  Surajah  Dowlah's  army  of  fifty  thousand. 


INDIA.       DEATH  OF  GEORGE   II.  355 

When  he  returned  to  England,  having  laid  the  founda- 
tion of  a  vast  empire,  the  conqueror  was  raised  to  the 
peerage  under  the  name  of  Lord  Clive,  Baron  of  Plas- 
sey.  In  the  same  year,  the  victory  of  Sir  Eyre  Coote 
drove  the  French  out  of  Pondicherry,  thus  giving  the 
British  control  over  the  whole  of  Southern  India. 

In  1760,  King  George  II.  died  suddenly,  from  a  rup- 
ture of  the  heart.  His  son  Frederic,  Prince  of  Wales, 
had  died  nine  years  before,  leaving  a  son  who  now  be- 
came King  of  England  as  George  III.  The  latter  was 
at  this  time  twenty-two  years  old,  and  was  the  first  of 
the  Georges  who  was  born  in  England. 

George  III.  succeeded  to  the  throne  when  England 
was  at  a  high  pitch  of  national  pride  and  self-satisfac- 
tion. The  victories  of  Wolfe  in  America  and  Clive  in 
India  contributed  to  this  confidence;  and  the  nation  felt 
safe  under  the  administration  of  the  "Great  Commoner," 
William  Pitt.  The  French,  annoyed  at  their  defeats, 
now  entered  into  an  alliance  with  Spain  called  the 
"Family  Compact,"  the  kings  of  both  countries  being 
Bourbons.  As  this  bound  Spain  to  take  part  with 
France  against  England,  Pitt  wished  to  be  beforehand 
with  her  and  declare  war  at  once,  thus  taking  her  at  a 
disadvantage;  but  the  king  refusing  to  do  so,  Pitt  re- 
signed his  office  and  was  succeeded  by  Lord  Bute  (1761). 

In  the  same  year,  King  George  married  Princess  Char- 
lotte of  Mecklenburg  Strelitz,  a  girl  of  seventeen,  plain- 
looking  but  sensible.  His  attention  was  attracted  to 
her  by  reading  a  letter  she  wrote  to  Frederic  the  Great, 
asking  him  to  spare  her  country  the  horrors  of  war.  It 
was  a  simple  little  letter,  such  as  any  well-educated 
school-girl  might  write,  but  George  III.  thought  it  ad- 


35d  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

mirable,  and  offered  himself  at  once  to  the  young  prin- 
cess. The  marriage  was  a  very  happy  one  and  the  king 
proved  himself  a  good  husband — something  so  rare  in 
his  family  that  it  is  worth  noticing. 

Spain  soon  broke  out  into  acts  of  open  warfare,  as 
Pitt  had  expected.  The  English  captured  the  city  of 
Havana  in  Cuba,  and  several  of  the  smaller  West -India 
Islands,  besides  taking  Manilla,  the  capital  of  the  Phil- 
ippines. Notwithstanding  these  successes,  Lord  Bute, 
alarmed  at  the  increase  of  the  national  debt,  which  now 
amounted  10^132, 000,000,  was  anxious  to  make  peace, 
and  a  treaty  at  Paris  (1763)  ended  the  Seven  Years' 
War.*  By  this,  France  gave  up  the  whole  of  Canada 
to  the  British,  and  tacitly  renounced  her  right  to  the 
great  Northwest  Territory,  which  included  within  its  limits 
the  Great  Lakes  and  the  Upper  Mississippi  Valley,  and 
the  present  states  of  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois,  Michigan, 
Wisconsin,  and  Minnesota.  England  gave  back  to  Spain 
her  recent  conquests  of  Havana  and  Manilla,  with  sev- 
eral of  the  West-India  Islands,  receiving  Florida  in  re- 
turn. The  treaty  was  extremely  displeasing  to  the 
English,  on  account  of  these  concessions,  and  Lord 
Bute  became  the  most  unpopular  man  in  the  country. 
People  contrasted  his  weak  measures  with  the  energy  of 
Pitt;  and,  to  the  surprise  of  every  one,  he  resigned  his 
office  (1763).  He  was  succeeded  by  George  Granville. 

Among  the  various  ways  in  which  the  growing  spirit 
of  popular  freedom  showed  itself  was  the  desire  for 
increased  liberty  of  the  press.  A  political  paper  called 
"The  North  Briton,"  edited  by  John  Wilkes,  had  long 

*The  corresponding  war  in  America  (which,  however,  began 
there  two  years  earlier)  was  called  the  French  and  Indian  War. 


INDIA.       DEATH  OF  GEORGE  II.  357 

been  the  vehicle  for  attacks  on  the  government;  and 
after  an  address  of  the  king  to  Parliament  in  which  he 
spoke  of  the  peace  as  honorable  to  Great  Britain, 
Wilkes  published  in  his  paper  a  violent  attack  on  the 
minister,  and,  by  implication,  on  the  king.  Wilkes  was 
thrown  into  the  Tower,  but  was  released  on  account  of 
his  privilege  as  a  member  of  Parliament.  The  Com- 
mons expelled  him  from  his  seat  by  a  unanimous  vote, 
and  ordered  his  paper  to  be  burnt  by  the  hangman. 
He  was  reflected  by  his  constituents  and  after  re- 
peated expulsions,  reelections,  fines  and  imprisonments, 
he  was  at  last  allowed  to  take  his  seat,  and  remained  a 
member  of  Parliament  for  many  years,  the  original  ques- 
tion being  entirely  dropped.  This  was  taken  as  a 
vindication  of  the  right  of  free  utterance  both  in  print- 
ing and  speaking,  and,  this  right  having  once  been  es- 
tablished, it  has  been  impossible  since  that  time  ever 
to  violate  it. 

George  III.'s  policy  differed  in  one  respect  from  that 
of  his  two  immediate  predecessors.  He  was  determined 
to  govern.  He  was  an  honest  man,  though  one  of 
narrow  views  and  an  overwhelming  idea  of  his  personal 
prerogative.  In  the  debates  on  the  legality  of  Wilkes's 
arrest,  General  Conway,  a  distinguished  officer  and  a 
fair-minded  man,  voted  conscientiously  against  the  gov- 
ernment: upon  which  the  king  insisted  on  his  being 
instantly  dismissed  from  the  army.  "In  this  question,  I 
am  personally  concerned,"  he  wrote  to  Grenville.  "I  am 
not  to  be  neglected  unpunished." 

But  all  ministerial  and  royal  imprudences  were  thrown 
into  the  shade  by  Grenville's  proposed  bill  for  taxing  the 
American  Colonies.  His  excuse  for  this  was  that  Eng- 


358  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

land  had  been  at  great  expense  for  their  defence  in  the 
French  and  Indian  war,  and  that  it  was  only  right  that 
they  should  bear  their  share  of  the  burden.  The  tax 
took  the  form  of  a  Stamp  Act,  requiring  that  all  law 
documents  should  be  written  upon  stamped  paper,  each 
sheet  thus  paying  a  duty  to  England.* 

The  measure  passed  (1765)  with  little  opposition.  Pitt 
was  absent  when  it  was  voted  on;  and  the  only  strong 
remonstrance  was  contained  in  a  spirited  speech  by 
Colonel  Isaac  Barre'.  The  character  of  this  may  be 
judged  by  a  few  extracts.  Col.  Barre  said,  referring  to 
the  Americans,  "They,  planted  by  your  care!  No; 
your  oppression  planted  them  in  America.  .  .  .  They, 
nourished  by  your  indulgence!  They  grew  by  your 
neglect  of  them.  .  .  .  They,  protected  by  your  arms ! 
They  have  nobly  taken  up  arms  in  your  defence." 

In  the  colonies,  however,  the  resistance  to  the  Act 
was  forcible  and  instantaneous.  "No  Taxation  without 
Representation!"  was  the  cry.  In  the  Virginia  House 
of  Burgesses,  Patrick  Henry  uttered  his  cutting  invec- 
tives against  it.  In  Massachusetts,  James  Otis  poured 
forth  the  burning  words  which  made  John  Adams, 
another  of  our  great  orators,  *  characterize  him  as  "a 
flame  of  fire."  A  general  Congress  met  at  New  York  in 

*  Dr.  Franklin  had  been  sent  to  England  by  several  of  the  colo- 
nies, when  hints  of  the  threatened  taxation  reached  America,  to  use 
his  influence  against  it.  He  writes  to  a  friend  at  this  time,  "Depend 
upon  it,  I  took  every  step  in  my  power  to  prevent  the  passing  of  the 
Stamp  Act.  But  the  tide  was  too  strong  against  us.  We  might  as 
well  have  hindered  the  sun's  setting  .  .  .  Frugality  and  industry 
will  go  a  great  way  toward  indemnifying  us.  Idleness  and  pride 
tax  with  a  heavier  hand  than  kings  and  parliaments.  If  we  can  get 
rid  of  the  former  we  may  easily  bear  the  latter. " 


INDIA.       DEATH  OF  GEORGE  II.  359 

October,  1765,  which  put  forth  a  declaration  of  rights, 
acknowledging  allegiance  to  Great  Britain,  but  protesting 
against  illegal  taxation  and  against  the  vexatious  limita- 
tions which  were  imposed  on  trade  by  the  navigation 
laws*  and  other  similar  enactments.  A  suggestion  was 
made  that  the  colonies  should  be  asked  to  tax  them- 
selves for  the  purpose  of  assisting  the  mother -country, 
and  if  this  had  been  followed  out,  the  amount  raised 
would  probably  have  been  far  in  excess  of  what  was  ex- 
pected from  the  sale  of  stamps.  No  attention  was  paid 
to  the  proceedings  of  the  Stamp-Act  Congress,  as  it  was 
•called,  and  by  the  first  of  November,  the  day  on  which 
the  law  was  to  go  into  operation,  there  were  no  stamps 
to  sell.  The  people  of  the  colonies  had  destroyed  them 
all;  and  the  officers  employed  in  their  distribution  were 
glad  to  get  off  with  their  lives. 

Among  the  orators  who  spoke  in  the  English  Parlia- 
ment against  the  Act  was  Edmund  Burke,  then  as  always, 
the  friend  of  liberty.  It  was  in  one  of  his  speeches  on 
this  subject  at  a  later  time  that  he  brought  in  his  famous 
simile  of  shearing  a  wolf.  A  man  was  resolved  to  shear 
a  wolf.  "But  have  you  considered  the  resistance,  the 
difficulty,  the  danger  of  the  attempt?"  "No;  I  have 
considered  nothing  but  the  right.  Man  has  the  right  of 
•dominion  over  the  beasts  of  the  forest,  and  therefore,  I 
will  shear  the  wolf!"  William  Pitt  (now  created  Earl  of 

*  By  these  laws  the  colonies  were  forbidden  to  sell  their  products 
•except  in  England,  nor  could  they  buy  European  goods  in  any  other 
•country.  No  foreign  ships  were  allowed  to  enter  American  ports. 
The  Americans  were  not  permitted  to  make  iron-ware  and  woolen 
goods,  and  many  articles  which  they  made  could  not  be  sent  from 
one  colony  to  another. 


360  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

Chatham)  spoke  to  the  same  purpose.  "I  rejoice  that 
America  has  resisted.  Three  millions  of  people,  so  dead 
to  all  the  feelings  ol  liberty  as  voluntarily  to  submit  to- 
be  slaves,  would  have  been  fit  instruments  to  make 
slaves  of  the  rest.  ...  It  is  my  opinion  that  the  Stamp 
Act  should  be  repealed,  totally,  absolutely,  and  immedi- 
ately." The  Stamp  Act  was  repealed  (1766)  but  coupled 
with  the  bill  for  repeal  was  another  declaring  the  power 
of  Parliament  "to  bind  the  colonies  in  all  cases  whatso- 
ever." This  did  not  promise  harmony,  yet  as  the  im- 
mediate point  was  gained,  the  colonies  were  quieted,  and 
the  usual  accompaniment  of  bonfires  and  bell-ringing 
testified  to  the  joy  of  the  American  people. 

While  the  discussion  over  the  Stamp  Act  was  still 
going  on,  the  king  was  attacked  by  an  illness,  the  nature 
of  which  was  kept  secret,  but  which  is  now  supposed  to- 
have  been  temporary  insanity.  On  his  recovery  a  Coun- 
cil of  Regency  was  appointed,  at  his  suggestion,  in  case 
of  a  relapse;  and  Grenville,  having  displeased  him  in 
some  personal  matters,  was  allowed  to  retire,  his  place 
being  taken  by  Lord  Rockingham. 

In  agreement  with  its  declaration,  Parliament  now 
(1767)  proceeded  to  lay  taxes  on  tea,  glass,  paper,  and 
painter's  colors,  more  for  the  sake  of  asserting  its  rights 
than  with  an  expectation  of  revenue.  The  duties  on  the 
last  three  articles  were  soon  withdrawn,  but  the  king  in- 
sisted on  retaining  that  on  tea. 

By  an  arrangement  with  the  East-India  Company,  its 
merchants  were  enabled  to  send  cargoes  of  tea  to  Amer- 
ica, which,  even  after  the  duty  was  paid,  could  be  sold 
at  a  lower  rate  than  formerly.  This,  it  was  supposed, 
would  be  eagerly  accepted  by  the  Americans,  it  being 


INDIA,       DEATH  OF  GEORGE  II.  361 

assumed  that  they  complained  of  the  tax  only  because  it 
affected  their  pockets.  But  the  colonists  desired,  not 
cheaper  tea,  but  the  maintenance  of  the  principle  that 
there  could  be  no  taxation  without  representation;  and 
the  concession  went  for  nothing. 

In  the  midst  of  the  excitement  produced  in  England 
by  the  discussion  of  these  subjects,  a  series  of  letters 
under  the  signature  of  "Junius"  appeared  in  the  news- 
papers, attacking  the  government,  with  violent  personal 
abuse  of  its  members,  in  which  even  the  king  was  not 
spared.  Every  effort  was  used  to  discover  the  writer 
of  these  letters;  but  the  authorship  of  "Junius"  contin- 
ued a  mystery  for  several  generations.  It  is  only  within 
the  present  half-century  that  evidence  has  come  to  light 
which  makes  it  almost  certain  that  the  author  of  the 
"Letters  of  Junius"  was  Sir  Philip  Francis,  a  government 
official  of  some  distinction. 


CHAPTER  XLVL 

WAR    WITH    AMERICA.       PEACE    OF   VERSAILLES.      WARREN 
HASTINGS. 

HE  tea-ships  arrived  duly  in  America,  according 
to  the  provisions  of  the  English  government 
and  the  East- India  Company;  but  no  tea  was 
sold  here.  In  Boston,  where  the  governor  refused  to 
allow  it  to  be  taken  back  to  England,  a  company*  of 

*This  orderly  riot  is  called  in  history  "The  Boston  Tea-Party." 
It  curiously  happened  that  the  last  survivor  of  it,  David  Kennison, 
was  a  soldier  at  Fort  Dearborn  (Chicago)  in  1810.  He  died  in 
Chicago,  February  24,  1852,  at  a  great  age,  and  his  bones  lie  in 
a  grave,  unmarked  but  not  unknown,  within  the  present  limits  of 
Lincoln  Park. — "Fergus'  Historical  Series,"  No.  1 6. 


362  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

men  disguised  as  Indians  boarded  the  ships,  broke  open 
the  chests,  and  emptied  the  tea  into  the  water  (1773). 
In  New  York  and  Philadelphia,  the  vessels  were  sent 
back  without  unloading  their  cargoes.  In  Annapolis,  a 
ship  that  had  paid  the  duty  was  burnt  in  the  harbor, 
with  its  cargo.  In  Charleston,  the  tea  was  intention- 
ally stored  in  damp  cellars,  where  it  was  soon  spoiled. 
As  Boston  was  considered  the  hot-bed  of  the  rebellious 
spirit,  Parliament  as  a  punishment  passed  the  "Boston 
Port  Bill,"  which  closed  the  harbor  to  all  commerce,  and 
removed  the  seat  of  Massachusetts  government  to  Salem 
(1774).  An  attempt  was  made  to  quarter  several  regi- 
ments of  British  soldiers  on  the  inhabitants  of  Boston, 
and  vexatious  alterations  were  made  in  the  charter  of 
the  colony,  all  tending  to  restrict  its  liberty.  A  congress 
of  delegates  from  the  thirteen  colonies  met  later  in  the 
year,  and  a  Declaration  of  Rights  was  announced  in 
reference  to  which  Lord  Chatham  (William  Pitt)  said, 
"I  must  declare  that  for  solidity  of  reasoning,  force  of 
sagacity,  and  wisdom  of  conclusion,  under  such  a  com- 
plication of  difficult  circumstances,  no  nation  or  body 
of  men  can  stand  in  preference  to  the  General  Congress 
at  Philadelphia."  But  George  III.  was  incapable  of 
learning  anything.  He  had  but  one  idea  as  to  America, 
and  that  was,  to  crush  down  opposition  by  force.  "The 
•die  is  cast,"  he  wrote  to  Lord  North,  the  premier,  when 
he  sent  General  Gage  with  troops  to  Boston,  "The 
colonies  must  either  triumph  or  submit."  The  first 
alternative  was  clearly  meant  to  be  ironical. 

The  skirmish  at  Lexington,  the  seizure  of  Ticonderoga, 
the  battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  the  appointment  of  George 
Washington  as  commander-in-chief  of  the  Continental 


AMERICAN  WAR.      WARREN  HASTINGS,       363 


•Congress,  followed  one  another  rapidly  (1775),  an^  early 
in  the  next  year,  General  Washington's  bold  and  mas- 
terly movements  forced  General  Howe  to  evacuate  Bos- 
ton. On  the  fourth  of  July,  1776,  the  Continental 
Congress,  assembled  at  Philadelphia,  declared  that  the 
•colonies  were  and  of  right  ought  to  be,  free  and  inde- 
pendent states.  The  Americans  had  continued  to  peti- 
tion the  king  for  redress  of  their  grievances  even  after 
the  effort  seemed  hopeless;  but  no  notice  was  taken  of 
their  petitions,  on  the  ground  that  the  Congress  was  a 
self-constituted  body,  and  in  rebellion.  Washington  was 
•defeated  by  General  Howe  (who  had  under  his  com- 
mand a  large  number  of  Hessian  troops  hired  by  the 
British  government)  at  Brooklyn  Heights  (August,  1776), 
and  soon  afterward  was  obliged  to  abandon  New  York 
City.  Franklin  and  others  had  been  sent  as  envoys  to 
ask  aid  from  France;  and  though  Louis  XVI.  was  not 
then  prepared  to  go  to  war  with  England  (which  would 
have  been  the  result  of  open  assistance),  he  helped  the 
Americans  secretly  with  money,  and  connived  at  Lafay- 
ette's going  to  America  on  his  own  responsibility.  The 
battles  of  Brandy  wine  and  German  town,  unfavorable  to 
the  Americans,  were  more  than  counterbalanced  by 
the  victories  over  Lord  Burgoyne  at  Saratoga  (1777), 
-where  the  British  general  was  taken  prisoner,  with  his 
-whole  army.*  This  was  the  turning-point  in  the  war, 
and  is  reckoned  as  one  of  the  "Fifteen  Decisive  Bat- 
tles of  the  World."  The  next  year  (1778),  the  indepen- 

*  One  of  Burgoyne's  soldiers,  John  Whistler,  entered  the  Amer- 
ican service,  rose  to  be  a  captain,  and  was  the  builder  of  the  first 
Fort  Dearborn  (1803).  His  grand-daughter,  Gwinthlean  Whistler, 
widow  of  Robert  A.  Kinzie,  now  lives  in  Chicago  (1891). 


364  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

dence  of  the  United  States  was  recognized  by  France, 
and  after  three  years  more  of  intermittent  fighting  the 
American  victory  at  Yorktovvn,  where  Lord  Cornwallis 
surrendered  with  his  army,  practically  closed  the  war. 

Matters  did  not  arrive  at  this  pass  without  attempts 
on  the  side  of  Great  Britain  toward  peace.  Lord  North 
brought  in  two  bills  (1778),  one  renouncing  formally  the 
right  of  the  British  Parliament  to  tax  America;  the  other 
authorizing  the  king  to  send  commissioners  to  treat  with 
any  person  or  persons  whom  the  colonies  might  appoint, 
"as  a  means  of  restoring  peace.  The  effect  of  the  read- 
ing in  Parliament  is  thus  recorded  in  the  "Annual  Reg- 
ister:" "A  dull,  melancholy  silence  for  some  time  suc- 
ceeded to  this  speech  *  *  Astonishment, 
dejection,  and  fear  overclouded  the  whole  assembly." 
Lord  Chatham,  very  ill  with  the  gout,  was  brought  to 
the  Parliament  House,  wrapped  in  flannels,  and  sup- 
ported on  either  side  by  his  son  and  his  son-in-law, 
and  there  made  his  last  speech.  He  protested  against 
any  measure  that  looked  toward  the  surrender  of  the 
colonies.  His  voice  had  always  been  against  taxation; 
it  was  now  raised  still  more  strongly  against  separation. 
While  attempting  to  speak  further,  he  fell  back  in  con- 
vulsions, and  was  carried  home  insensible.  He  lingered 
a  few  weeks,  and  died,  lamented  by  all  except  the  king 
and  his  party,  the  tories.  When  George  III.  heard  that 
the  Commons  had  voted  him  a  public  funeral,*  he  wrote 
to  Lord  North  that  he  was  "rather  surprised,"  but  trusted 
that  it  would  be  merely  an  expression  of  gratitude  for 

•Parliament  also  decreed  a  monument  in  Westminster  Abbey, 
an  annuity  of  ^4000,  to  his  heirs,  and  a  gift  of  .£20,000  to  pay  his 
debts 


AMERICAN  WAR.       WARREN  HASTINGS.       365 

certain  services  which  he  specified.  "This  compliment, 
if  paid  to  his  general  conduct,"  remarked  his  majesty, 
"  is  rather  an  offensive  measure  to  me  personally."  The 
funeral  honors  were  paid,  and  Chatham's  name  still 
rouses  in  the  hearts  of  Americans  as  well  as  English- 
men, feelings  of  pride  and  veneration,  while  the  best 
they  can  say  of  George  III.  is,  "Poor  man,  he  meant 
well!" 

England  had  declared  war  against  France  as  soon  as 
the  treaty  of  the  latter  country  with  the  United  States 
was  made  known,  and  it  was  not  long  before  she  was 
embroiled  with  Spain  and  Holland.  Everywhere  her 
powerful  navy  enabled  her  to  hold  her  own.  Gibraltar 
sustained  successfully  a  three  years'  siege,  and  Admiral 
Rodney  defeated  a  Spanish  fleet  off  Cape  St.  Vincent 
and  a  French  one  in  the  West  Indies.  A  small  Amer- 
ican squadron  under  John  Paul  Jones  captured  two 
British  vessels,  the  "Serapis"  and  the  "Scarborough," 
off  the  coast  of  Scotland. 

The  year  1780  was  long  remembered  in  England  on 
account  of  the  "No  popery!"  riots  in  London.  Ex- 
tremely severe  laws  against  Roman  Catholics  had  been 
in  force  all  through  the  century.  Priests  who  performed 
mass  or  became  teachers  were  liable  to  be  imprisoned 
for  life;  and  all  Catholics  were  declared  incapable  of 
owning  landed  property,  which,  in  case  of  inheritance, 
was  given  to  the  nearest  Protestant  relative.  The  re- 
peal (1778)  of  these  disgraceful  laws  enraged  the  bigoted 
masses,  and  Lord  George  Gordon,  a  weak,  vain,  and 
restless  young  man,  drew  together  a  great  mob,  which 
for  a  few  days  seemed  to  have  possession  of  London. 
The  rioters  broke  open  Newgate  Prison,  liberated  three 


366  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

hundred  prisoners,  and  burned  the  costly  building  to  the 
ground.  They  then  rushed  through  London  and  the 
suburbs,  destroying  houses  and  Roman  Catholic  church- 
es, and  burned  the  fine  residence  of  Lord  Mansfield, 
chief-justice  of  England,  with  the  valuable  law- library 
which  he  had  spent  fifty  years  in  collecting.  Lord  George 
Gordon  was  accused  of  high  treason,  but  was  acquitted, 
and  afterward  died  insane.  A  large  number  of  the  rioters- 
were  executed.* 

Although  the  capture  of  Lord  Cornwallis  and  his  army 
at  York  town  in  1781  had  virtually  ended  the  American 
war,  the  final  treaty  of  peace  was  not  signed  until  two- 
years  afterward.  Approaches  were  made  to  Dr.  Franklin 
at  Paris,  on  the  part  of  the  British  government,  and  as 
he  refused  to  treat  on  any  other  terms  than  a  recognition 
of  American  independence,  the  negotiations  were  some- 
what delayed.  In  November,  1782,  however,  a  prelimi- 
nary treaty  was  signed,  yielding  all  that  was  demanded 
by  the  United  States,  including  permission  to  fish  on  the 
banks  of  Newfoundland.  Early  in  the  next  year,  peace 
was  made  at  Versailles  with  France  and  Spain,  several  of 
the  West  India  Islands  changing  hands  again,  and  Florida 
being  once  more  given  back  to  Spain.  On  September 
3,  1783,  the  definite  treaty  was  signed  with  the  United 
States.  The  king's  first  speech  in  Parliament  after  the 
signing  of  the  treaty  was  in  a  manly  and  generous  tone- 
After  stating  the  facts,  he  said  that  he  had  sacrificed 
every  consideration  of  his  own  to  the  wishes  and  opin- 
ions of  his  people,  and  added,  "I  make  it  my  humble- 
and  earnest  prayer  to  Almighty  God  that  Great  Britain 

*  A  spirited  account  of  these  riots  is  found  in  the  opening  chapter 
of  Dickens's  "Barnaby  Rudge. " 


AMERICAN  WAR.       WARREN   HASTINGS.       367 

may  not  feel  the  evils  that  might  result  from  so  great  a 
dismemberment  of  the  empire,  and  that  America  may  be 
free  from  those  calamities  which  have  formerly  proved  in 
the  mother  country  how  essential  monarchy  is  to  the 
enjoyment  of  constitutional  liberty.  Religion,  language,, 
interest,  affections,'  may,  and  I  hope  will,  yet  prove  a 
bond  of  permanent  union  between  the  two  countries." 
Two  years  later,  when  John  Adams,  our  first  minister  to- 
England,  was  presented  to  him,  he  said  that  though  he 
had  been  the  last  to  consent  to  a  separation,  he  would 
be  the  first  to  meet  the  friendship  of  the  United  States 
as  an  independent  power. 

In  the  same  year  with  the  acknowledgment  of  Ameri- 
can independence,  the  Prince  of  Wales  became  of  age. 
By  his  extravagance  of  living,  his  losses  at  the  gaming 
table,  and  the  alterations  he  was  making  in  Carlton 
House,  which  had  been  given  him  as  a  residence,  he  was 
so  deeply  involved  that  at  one  time  he  had  a  sheriff's 
process  for  debt  in  his  house.  His  father  refused  to 
assist  him,  and  for  a  time  he  reduced  his  expenses.  Then, 
the  opposition  drawing  attention  to  his  notorious  debts 
and  threatening  to  make  them  public,  the  king  con- 
sented, on  condition  of  his  reforming,  to  allow  him  (from 
the  public  funds  of  course)  ^10,000  a  year  additional 
income,  ^£161,000  to  pay  his  debts  with,  and  ^20, coo- 
to  spend  on  Carlton  House. 

We  must  now  turn  to  British  affairs  in  India.  Lord 
Clive  had  returned  there  after  a  few  years  spent  at  home, 
and  had  employed  his  great  talents  in  reforming  abuses 
and  in  consolidating  the  splendid  empire  which  he  may 
almost  be  said  to  have  given  to  England.  Returning 
home  (1767)  in  ill-health,  with  enormous  wealth,  he  was- 


368  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

accused  by  General  Burgoyne  (the  same  who  was  after- 
ward defeated  at  Saratoga)  of  misconduct  in  India, 
and  an  investigation  was  held  (1773).  Acts  of  oppres- 
sion and  deceit  toward  native  chiefs  were  proved  against 
him  (he  was  always  faithful  to  his  own  government)  and 
he  was  censured  for  these,  while  at  the  same  time  his 
"great  and  meritorious  services  to  his  country"  were 
recognized.  The  mortification  broke  his  heart.  Being 
of  a  melancholy  temperament,  which  was  increased  by  a 
life  of  inaction,  and  suffering  from  illness,  he  killed  him- 
self (1774)  at  forty-nine  years  of  age. 

After  Clive's  last  return  from  the  Indian  peninsula,  the 
old  corruption  and  mismanagement  began  there  again, 
and  Warren  Hastings  was  sent  out  as  governor-general 
of  India,  being  the  first  person  who  bore  that  title.  He 
was  an  able  and  vigorous  ruler,  surrounded  by  difficulties 
which  taxed  his  powers  to  the  utmost.  Hyder  Ali,  king 
of  Mysore,  the  most  enterprising  of  the  native  chiefs, 
invaded  the  Carnatic  (a  district  on  the  eastern  coast  of 
India)  with  90,000  men,  led  by  French  officers,  and  after 
inflicting  great  injury  on  the  English,  was  defeated  by  Sir 
Eyre  Coote  at  Porto  Novo,  with  the  effect  of  establishing 
their  power  more  firmly  than  ever. 

To  satisfy  the  grasping  demands  of  the  East- India 
Company,  Hastings  practised  such  extortions  on  the 
native  princes  as  have  left  an  indelible  stain  on  his  mem- 
ory. Exorbitant  fines,  seizure  of  vast  amounts  of  property 
under  false  pretences,  employment  of  torture  to  force 
the  giving  up  of  treasures,  bribery  of  officials,  all  these 
things  dim  the  glory  of  the  man  who  had  done  more  than 
any  other  to  secure  the  great  empire  which  had  been 
conquered  by  his  predecessors,  and  to  this  day  remains 


AMERICAN    WAR.       WARREN  HASTINGS.       369 

a  monument  of  English  prowess.  His  genius  for  admin- 
istration, his  foresight,  his  knowledge  of  the  springs  to 
be  touched  in  dealing  with  men,  place  him  in  the  very 
front  rank  of  England's  great  colonial  governors.  But 
when  he  returned  home  (1785),  expecting  rewards  and 
applause,  he  was  met  by  an  impeachment  which,  from 
the  magnitude  of  the  interests  involved  and  the  station 
of  the  accused,  led  to  one  of  the  most  famous  state  trials 
of  history. 

Once  more  the  grand  old  hall  of  William  Rufus  was 
•crowded.  The  greatest  orators  of  the  day  were  arrayed 
against  the  prisoner;  Burke,  Fox,  Sheridan,  all  famed  for 
impassioned  eloquence,  for  convincing  reasoning,  did 
their  utmost  to  prove  him  guilty.  On  his  side,  the  coun- 
sel were  men  of  great  legal  ability,  but  of  lesser  note. 
One  of  them,  Law,  was  afterward  chief -justice  of  Eng- 
land. The  court  was  crowded  during  its  first  sessions 
with  the  rank  and  fashion  of  England,  both  men  and 
women,  all  eagerly  taking  one  side  or  the  other  as  if  their 
own  fate  depended  upon  the  result.  The  trial  lasted  for 
seven  years.  There  were  long  recesses  of  the  court, 
during  which  Hastings  was  released  on  bail;  but  not 
until  1795,  was  the  verdict  given — not  guilty! 

That  Warren  Hastings  was  guilty  of  great  crimes 
against  humanity  can  not  be  denied.  That  he  derived 
no  benefit  personally  from  those  crimes  is  equally  true, 
for  he  did  not  come  home  a  rich  man;  whether  his  great 
services  to  the  country  justified  his  acquittal  for  wrongs 
done  was  the  question  for  the  court  to  decide,  and  it 
was  decided  in  the  affirmative. 

Though  justice  was  not  done,  as  it  now  seems  to  us, 
the  objects  of  the  trial  were  accomplished.  It  has 
24 


370  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

become  impossible,  since  that  day,  for  any  English  officer 
to  repeat  the  cruelties  which  fill  our  souls  with  horror; 
and  the  poor  Hindoo  pariah  is,  in  theory  at  least,  as 
much  under  the  protection  of  law  as  his  fellow -subjects 
in  England. 


CHAPTER   XL  VI I. 

THE      FRENCH     REVOLUTION.         NAPOLEON      IN       EGYPT. 
IRELAND. 

JN  1783,  the  office  of  prime  minister  of  England 
was  conferred  upon  William  Pitt,  a  man  only 
twenty-four  years  old,  second  son  of  the  great 
Lord  Chatham.  When  he  began,  the  country  was  ex- 
hausted by  a  long  war,  and  public  discontent  was  freely 
vented  in  abuse  of  the  administration.  Within  a  few 
years  all  this  was  changed.  The  debt  was  reduced  by 
ten  millions  sterling,  and  people  trusted  the  govern- 
ment, for  it  was  perceived  that  there  was  a  strong  hand 
at  the  helm.  As  long  as  he  held  the  office,  Pitt  enjoyed 
the  confidence  of  the  king  without  sacrificing  his  own 
independence. 

The  year  1789  was  a  crisis  in  the  history  of  two 
nations  with  whom  the  fortunes  of  England  were  closely 
connected.  The  United  States  of  America,  which  had 
been  up  to  that  time  a  loosely-joined  confederacy,  with 
no  central  bond  to  hold  the  members  together,  became 
really  united  by  the  adoption  of  its  constitution  and 
the  organization  of  a  centralized  government.  It  was 
no  longer  "  one  nation  to-day  and  thirteen  to-morrow," 


FRENCH  REVOLUTION.       IRELAND.  371 

as  Washington  had  described  it.  It  was  a  consolidated 
country,  which  for  the  first  time  commanded  the  respect 
of  the  world.  England  marked  her  sense  of  the  change 
by  sending  a  resident  minister  to  represent  her  interests 
in  America,  which  before  she  had  disdained  to  do. 
From  the  3oth  of  April,  1789,  the  day  of  Washington's 
inauguration  as  president,  the  United  States  took  its 
place  among  the  family  of  nations.* 

Five  days  after  this  event,  the  meeting  of  the  States- 
general  at  Versailles,  near  Paris  (May  5,  1789),  marked 
the  opening  of  that  great  convulsion  called  the  French 
Revolution.t  At  first,  English  sympathy  was  largely  on 
the  side  of  the  Revolutionists.  People  saw,  or  thought 
they  saw,  an  effort  toward  a  constitutional  government, 
which  was  to  replace  the  old  arbitrary  tyranny;  and 
they  rejoiced  for  the  sake  of  humanity.  But  it  was  not 
long  before  they  began  to  see  the  cloven  foot  of  the 
worst  form  of  tyranny — the  tyranny  of  the  many — under 
the  sweeping  robe  of  progress,  and  those  who  had  been 
most  eager  in  praise  of  the  movement  turned  with  loath- 
ing from  its  excesses.  The  first  effect  in  England  was 
to  make  more  marked  the  division  of  party  lines,  and 
friends  were  separated  who  had  before  stood  in  close 
alliance.  Burke  and  Fox,  in  particular,  became  political 
opponents,  the  latter,  a  man  less  clear-sighted  and  well- 
balanced  than  his  friend,  supporting  the  revolutionists, 

*  As  England  refused  to  give  up  certain  forts  which  she  held  in 
our  western  territory  and  continued  to  interfere  with  our  commerce, 
it  was  found  necessary  to  make  another  treaty  with  her  (1794), 
which  was  negotiated  by  John  Jay,  afterward  chief-justice  of  the 
United  States.  By  this  treaty  everything  was  settled  for  ten  years. 

t  See  "A  Short  History  of  France,"  chapters  XXIX-XXXII. 


372  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND.  « 

those  "architects  of  ruin,"  as  Burke  called  them.  In 
the  violent  language  of  the  time,  those  who  opposed  the 
Revolution  were  despots — those  who  defended  it  were 
Jacobins.* 

The  execution  of  Louis  XVI.  in  1793  filled  England 
with  horror;  and  when  the  French  National  Conven- 
tion declared  war  against  her  within  two  weeks  after- 
ward, under  pretext  of  helping  the  party  in  England 
who  wished  to  make  that  country  a  republic,  the  na- 
tional spirit  burst  forth  like  a  torrent.  A  fleet  sent  to 
assist  the  royalists  in  the  defence  of  Toulon  (1793)  was 
driven  away  by  a  force  under  the  direction  of  Napoleon 
Bonaparte.  This  was  his  first  military  action,  and  he 
did  not  again  come  into  direct  collision  with  the  Eng- 
lish until  they  met  in  Syria  (1798). 

A  coalition  was  formed  by  Great  Britain,  Holland, 
Russia,  and  Spain,  to  restore  the  monarchy  in  France; 
but  the  immense  armies,  mad  with  enthusiasm,  sent  into 
the  field  by  the  republic,  baffled  all  their  efforts.  The 
navy,  however,  was  successful  in  several  quarters,  Nel- 
son, Howe,  and  Hood,  keeping  up  the  honor  of  the 
English  flag  at  sea. 

In  Holland,  the  French  were  successful,  and  the  Stadt- 
holder  (the  Prince  of  Orange)  fled  to  England.  The 
authorities  left  in  Holland  now  joining  the  French,  Eng- 
land seized  the  Dutch  dominions  in  the  East  and  West 
Indies.  Demarara  and  the  colonies  in  South  America, 
the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  in  Africa,  and  Ceylon,  Ma- 

*  Be  careful  to  distinguish  between  "Jacobite  "  and  "Jacobin." 
The  former  denoted  the  followers  of  James  II.  and  his  descendants, 
the  latter  the  most  violent  and  radical  party  of  the  French  anar- 
chists. 


FRENCH  REVOLUTION.       IRELAND.  373 

lacca  and  other  Dutch  possessions  in  Asia  were  taken 

(i795)- 

In  England,  those  who  sympathized  with  the  Revo- 
lution did  their  best  to  stir  up  ill-feeling  among  the 
lower  classes;  and  a  bad  harvest,  making  high  prices, 
increased  the  excitement.  The  king  was  hooted  and 
pelted  in  the  streets,  and  his  coach,  after  he  had  left  it, 
was  broken  to  pieces  by  the  mob.  The  Bank  of  Eng- 
land was  obliged  to  suspend  specie  payments  (1797), 
and  its  notes  had  to  be  taken  instead  of  gold  and  silver. 

It  was  during  this  year  that  Nelson,  supported  by 
Admiral  Jervis,  gained  a  great  victory  over  the  Spanish 
fleet  off  Cape  St.  Vincent.  In  the  heat  of  the  action  he 
exclaimed,  "Westminster  Abbey  or  victory!"  This  time 
it  was  victory.  A  few  months  afterward,  Admiral  Dun- 
can defeated  a  French  fleet  at  Camperdown. 

Napoleon  Bonaparte,  who  had  reappeared  on  the 
scene  in  "The  Day  of  the  Sections"  (1795)  and  the 
campaign  in  Italy  (1796-7),  now  undertook  an  expedi- 
tion to  Egypt  (1798)  to  break  the  English  power  in  that 
country  and  prevent  communication  with  India  through 
the  Red  Sea.  Landing  at  Alexandria  with  an  immense 
army,  he  soon  afterward  defeated  the  Mamelukes  (Egyp- 
tian soldiers)  in  the  Battle  of  the  Pyramids.  Admiral 
Nelson,  however,  vanquished  the  French  fleet  in  Abou- 
kir  Bay  with  great  loss.*  For  this  he  was  made  "Baron 
Nelson  of  the  Nile."  Only  four  of  Napoleon's  ships 
were  able  to  escape  to  France.  Meanwhile,  Bonaparte, 
marching  into  Syria,  undertook  to  conquer  that  country 
from  the  Turks.  At  Acre  he  found  the  latter  supported 

*This  was  the  famous  "Battle  of  the  Nile,"  where  took  place, 
the  incident  celebrated  in  Mrs.  Hemans's  "Casabianca." 


374  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

by  the  English  admiral,  Sir  Sydney  Smith,  and  after  a 
siege  of  two  months  was  forced  to  retire.  On  returning 
to  Egypt  from  this  most  disastrous  expedition  he  de- 
serted his  army  and  secretly  embarked  for  France,  where, 
by  a  change  in  the  government,  he  was  made  first  con- 
sul (1799). 

Sir  Ralph  Abercrombie,  who  was  sent  to  Egypt  to 
attack  the  French  army  left  there  by  Bonaparte,  gained 
a  victory  near  Alexandria,  but  was  mortally  wounded  in 
the  action.  General  Hutchinson,  who  now  assumed  the 
command,  defeated  the  French  general  Menou,  and 
agreed  that  the  French  troops  in  Egypt  should  be  trans- 
ported to  France  at  the  expense  of  England.  The 
savans  (learned  men)  who  went  with  Napoleon  had  col- 
lected an  enormous  quantity  of  Egyptian  manuscripts 
and  antiquities  of  all  sorts,  including  the  famous  "Rosetta 
Stone,"*  which  they  were  now  obliged  to  give  up  to  the 
English,  retaining  only  their  private  papers. 

A  rebellion  in  Ireland  was  the  natural  consequence  of 
the  revolutionary  successes  in  America  and  France,  and 
an  association  called  "The  Society  of  United  Irishmen" 
was  formed  there  in  1793.  It  was  begun  by  Protestants 
under  the  leadership  of  Theobald  Wolfe  Tone,  but  was 
soon  largely  joined  by  Irish  Catholics.  For  some  years 
their  movements  and  intentions  were  kept  secret,  but  in 
1798  the  project  of  an  insurrection  was  betrayed  to  the 
English  government,  and  some  of  the  leaders  were 
*  arrested.  Martial  law  was  proclaimed  in  Ireland,  and 

*  On  this  stone  is  engraved  an  inscription  in  Greek,  ancient 
Egyptian,  and  hieroglyphics,  by  means  of  which  it  became  possible 
to  decipher  all  Egyptian  picture-writing.  It  is  in  the  British 
Museum. 


FRENCH  REVOLUTION.       IRELAND.  375 

many  acts  of  violence  were  committed  on  both  sides. 
Lord  Edward  Fitzgerald  was  killed  in  defending  himself, 
and  Thomas  Addis  Emmet  was  confined  for  three  years.* 

By  the  efforts  of  Pitt  (which  included  unscrupulous 
bribery  of  its  members)  the  Irish  Parliament  passed  a 
vote  agreeing  to  union  with  England  (July,  1800).  The 
scene,  as  described  by  a  member  of  this  last  Parliament, 
was  very  impressive.  "The  speaker,  with  an  eye  averted 
from  the  object  which  he  hated,  proclaimed,  with  a  sub- 
dued voice,  'The  Ayes  have  it.'"  When  the  House 
adjourned,  the  speaker  was  followed  to  his  residence  by 
forty-one  members,  walking  bareheaded,  and  in  profound 
silence.  He  bowed  to  them  before  entering  his  house, 
and  then  "the  whole  assemblage  dispersed,  without  utter- 
ing a  word." 

Having  now  reached  the  last  year  of  the  eighteenth 
century,  we  may  properly  look  back  and  see  what  that 
century  had  accomplished  in  England.  Politically,  the 
press  had  been  made  free,  and  the  debates  in  Parliament, 
previously  most  jealously  kept  secret,  were  reported  from 
1771.  England  had  gained  Canada  and  lost  the  thirteen 
colonies;  the  latter  after  all  a  real  gain  to  her,  although 
an  apparent  loss,  for  independent  America  has  been  of 
far  more  value  to  her  than  colonial  America  ever  could 
have  been. 

*  Emmet  was  released  (1802)  on  condition  of  leaving  England  for- 
ever. A  few  years  later  he  came  to  New  York,  and  ended  his  life 
there  as  a  prosperous  lawyer.  His  brother,  Robert  Emmet,  was 
concerned  in  a  rebellion  in  1803,  and  was  hanged  in  Dublin.  Two 
of  Thomas  Moore's  exquisite  poems  were  written  in  memory  of  him 
and  his  lady-love:  "Oh,  breathe  not  his  name, "  and  "She  is  far  from 
the  land  where  her  young  hero  sleeps. " 


376  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

She  had  established  an  empire  in  India  to  which  man- 
kind has  seen  no  parallel  in  modern  times,  and  there 
is  no  quarter  of  the  globe  where  her  dominion  was  not 
increased.  Captain  Cook  added  to  the  world's  knowl- 
edge by  his  discovery  (1778)  of  the  Hawaiian  Islands- 
(called  by  the  English  Sandwich)  and  his  investigations 
of  the  resources  of  Australia  led  to  the  establishment  of 
a  penal  settlement  in  New  South  Wales  (1788). 

In  science,  the  application  of  steam  to  practical  pur- 
poses had  begun,  and  was  constantly  widening,  James 
Watt  extending  and  applying  what  Newcomen  had 
begun.  His  partner,  Boulton,  said  triumphantly  to  Bos- 
well,  when  the  latter  visited  his  manufactory:  "I  sell  here, 
sir,  what  all  the  world  desires  to  have — POWER!"  Frank- 
lin had  tamed  the  lightning;  Herschel,  with  his  powerful 
telescope,  brought  a  new  planet  into  sight.  The  Duke 
of  Bridgewater  devised,  and,  with  the  help  of  Brindley, 
the  great  engineer,  carried  out  the  project  of  connecting 
the  industrial  districts  by  a  chain  of  canals.  Wedgwood 
invented  a  method  of  making  pottery  which  soon  rivalled 
the  work  of  France  and  Holland.  A  quarter  of  the  sur- 
face of  England,  marsh,  waste  moor,  and  forest,  was  re- 
claimed during  this  century,  and  ten  thousand  square 
miles  of  land  added  to  what  was  already  cultivated. 

It  is  strange  that  a  nation  claiming  so  high  a  degree 
of  civilization  as  England,  should  so  long  have  tolerated 
the  unspeakable  horrors  of  the  slave-trade ;  but  though 
the  matter  was  in  agitation  for  twenty  years,  with  all  the 
influences  that  could  be  brought  to  bear  upon  it,  the 
detestable  traffic  was  not  suppressed  until  the  nineteenth 
century.  The  bill  passed  the  Commons  repeatedly,  but 
was  always  thrown  out  by  the  House  of  Lords.  John 


FRENCH  REVOLUTION.       IRELAND.  377 

Howard  brought  the  frightful  condition  of  the  prisons 
before  public  attention,  though  the  system  of  laws  which 
punished  with  death  the  stealing  of  articles  from  a  shop 
to  the  value  of  five  shillings,  still  continued  in  force. 

The  discovery  of  a  preventive  of  small-pox,  belongs  to 
the  eighteenth  century.  This  disease  had  long  been  the 
scourge  of  Europe,  taking  its  victims  from  high  and  low 
alike,  when  Lady  Mary  Wortley  Montague,  the  spirited 
wife  of  the  ambassador  to  Turkey,  brought  home  with 
her  from  that  country  the  practice  of  inoculation.  While 
the  unreasoning  prejudice  against  it  was  still  great  in 
England,  Queen  Caroline  had  the  good  sense  to  allow 
two  of  her  children  to  be  inoculated;  and  the  remedy 
became  a  recognized  one.  In  the  latter  part  of  the  cen- 
tury, however,  the  discovery  by  Dr.  Jenner  of  the  process 
of  vaccination  provided  a  milder  treatment,  equally  effec- 
tual, and  infinitely  less  dangerous. 

In  art,  William  Hogarth,  a  painter  who  satirized  the 
faults  and  follies  of  common  life,  was  most  noted  in  the 
middle  part  of  the  century.  Later,  Reynolds  and  Gains- 
borough were  celebrated,  each  in  his  own  line,  as  painters, 
and  sculpture  was  represented  by  Flaxman.  Sheridan 
was  the  great  play -writer,  and  Garrick  the  great  actor  ot 
plays  in  those  days. 

When  we  try  to  name  the  men  of  letters  of  the  last 
half  of  the  eighteenth  century,  we  have  a  long  task  before 
us.  There  were  Hume  and  Gibbon  and  Robertson,  the 
historians;  Richardson,  Fielding,  and  Smollett,  the  origi- 
nators of  our  system  of  modern  romance-writing;  Thom- 
son, Young,  and  Gray,  the  poets;  Johnson  and  Goldsmith 
(who  also  wrote  in  many  other  styles),  the  essayists;  Adam 
Smith,  founder  of  the  science  of  political  economy;  Lady 


378  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

Mary  Wortley  Montague  and  Horace  Walpole,  the  inim- 
itable letter-writers;  Frances  Burney,  novelist  and  diarist; 
Watts  and  Wesley  and  Newton,  the  writers  of  so  many 
of  our  familiar  hymns.  Last  on  the  list  come  the  two 
poets  of  humanity,  Robert  Burns  in  Scotland  and  Wil- 
liam Cowper  in  England,  the  latter  dying  in  1800,  and 
so  finishing  the  century. 


CHAPTER  XL  VI II. 

UNION  WITH   IRELAND.       TRAFALGAR.       ORDERS   IN  COUN- 
CIL.     PENINSULAR   WAR.       WAR    OF    l8l2. 

WATERLOO.       ST.   HELENA. 

1  HE  opening  year  of  the  new  century  saw  the 
assembling  of  the  first  Parliament  of  Great 
Britain  and  Ireland  (1801).  At  the  same  time 
the  vain  words  "King  of  France"  were  dropped  from 
the  royal  title  and  the  fleur  de  lys  blotted  out  from  the 
royal  arms.  The  Irish  Parliament  ceased  to  exist;  a 
hundred  Irish  members  were  added  to  the  House  of 
Commons  in  England  and  thirty-two  peers,  including 
four  bishops,  to  the  House  of  Lords.  Pitt  made  a 
strong  effort  to  procure  the  admission  of  Roman  Cath- 
olics to  Parliament,  but  the  king  opposed  it  from  con- 
scientious motives,  and  Pitt  resigned  the  premiership, 
which  he  had  held  for  eighteen  years.  Mr.  Addington 
took  his  place  and  formed  a  new  ministry  (1801). 

The  right  of  searching  the  vessels  of  other  nations 
for  contraband  goods  had  never  been  given  up  by 
Great  Britain,  and  the  northern  countries,  Russia,  Swe- 


UNION   WITH  IRELAND.       WATERLOO.         379 

den,  Denmark,  and  Prussia  formed  a  league  to  protect 
their  commerce  from  the  encroachments  of  the  English. 
Sir  Hyde  Parker  and  Lord  Nelson  were  sent  to  Copen- 
hagen with  a  fleet,  and  a  deadly  fight  took  place.  Nel- 
son said  afterward,  "I  have  been  in  more  than  a  hundred 
engagements,  but  that  of  Copenhagen  was  the  most  ter- 
rific of  them  all."  Several  of  the  ships  ran  aground,  and 
the  admiral,  Sir  Hyde  Parker,  gave  the  signal  to  with- 
draw; but  Nelson  put  his  spy-glass  to  his  blind  eye  so 
that  he  could  not  see  it,  and  went  on  fighting.  The 
Danish  fleet  was  destroyed,  and  he  sailed  away  for  the 
Baltic  to  find  the  Russians.  When  he  arrived  off  Cron- 
•stadt  he  learned  that  the  emperor,  "Mad  Paul,"  had 
been  assassinated;  and  as  Alexander  L,  his  successor, 
was  disposed  to  make  peace,  there  was  no  difficulty  in 
putting  an  end  to  the  league.  Soon  afterward  a  treaty 
•was  made  with  France  at  Amiens,  and  for  a  moment  the 
world  seemed  quiet  again. 

The  peace  did  not  last  long.  The  English  refused  to 
give  up  Malta,  as  stipulated  in  the  treaty,  because  the 
French  army  was  kept  up;  and  Bonaparte,  who  was 
still  First  Consul,  ordered  all  English  residents  or  travel- 
lers in  France  to  be  thrown  into  prison  (1803).  A 
French  army  took  possession  of  Hanover,  while  the 
English  seized  the  French  and  Dutch  colonies  in  the 
West  Indies.  A  great  number  of  soldiers,  called  the 
•"Army  of  England,"  were  assembled  at  Boulogne,  and 
Bonaparte  reviewed  them  there;  but  as  he  had  other 
work  on  hand,  and  the  British  fleet  swept  the  channel 
unremittingly,  the  army  of  England  never  sailed. 

In  1804,  Bonaparte  proclaimed  himself  emperor  un- 
der the  name  of  Napoleon  I.  At  the  same  time, 


380  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

Addington  resigned,  and  Pitt  again  became  prime  min- 
ister. A  year  later,  Nelson  fought  the  battle  of  Trafalgar 
(1805).  The  order  for  the  day  was,  "ENGLAND  EXPECTS 
EVERY  MAN  TO  DO  HIS  DUTY."  Every  man  did  his  duty, 
and  the  English  won  a  glorious  victory;  but  Nelson  was 
killed.  Admiral  Collingwood,  the  second  in  command,, 
succeeded  him. 

In  1806,  England  lost  another  of  her  greatest  men. 
"William  Pitt  died  in  January,  on  the  twenty-fifth  anni- 
versary of  the  day  on  which  he  first  entered  Parliament,, 
worn  out  at  the  age  of  forty-six  by  care  and  anxiety. 
The  usurpations  of  Napoleon  filled  him  with  dismay  and 
dread.  "Fold  up  the  map  of  Europe  for  twenty  years!" 
he  exclaimed  in  despair,  after  the  battle  of  Austerlitz. 
His  rival,  Fox,  survived  him  only  a  few  months.  They 
are  buried  near  one  another  in  Westminster  Abbey.*" 
Nelson  is  buried  in  the  centre  of  the  crypt  under  the 
great  dome  of  St.  Paul's,  London. 

It  is  impossible,  in  writing  the  history  of  any  country 
in  Europe  during  the  first  fifteen  years  of  this  centuryr 
to  avoid  constant  references  to  the  name  of  Napoleon. 
Having  beaten  Austria  and  Russia  at  Austerlitz  and 
Prussia  at  Jena,  he  entered  Berlin  in  Triumph,  and  from 
that  place  issued  the  "Berlin  Decrees,"  which  have 
made  his  visit  there  so  famous.  By  them  he  declared 
the  British  Islands  in  a  state  of  blockade  (on  paper),. 
and  forbade  all  other  countries  to  hold  any  commercial 
intercourse  with  England  or  her  colonies.  The  English 
government,  fearful  that  Napoleon  would  press  into  his- 
service  the  fine  Danish  fleet,  sent  to  demand  of  Den- 

*  "Drop  upon  Fox's  grave  a  tear 

'Twill  trickle  to  his  rival's  bier. " — Sir  Walter  Scott. 


UNION  WITH  IRELAND.       WATERLOO.         381 

mark  that  it  should  be  given  up  to  them.  This  being 
indignantly  refused,  a  force  was  sent  to  bombard  Copen- 
hagen, which  was  forced  to  surrender,  and  the  whole 
Danish  fleet  was  carried  to  England,  with  immense 
quantities  of  naval  stores  and  artillery  (1807).  This 
arrogant  act  must  always  remain  a  blot  on  the  escutch- 
eon of  England.  The  island  of  Heligoland*  was  seized 
at  this  time,  and  several  of  the  Danish  West- India 
Islands  were  captured. 

A  more  honorable  action  was  the  abolition  of  the 
African  slave-trade,  which  took  place  in  1807  through 
the  long  and  continued  efforts  of  Wilberforce,  Clarkson, 
and  Granville  Sharp. 

Napoleon's  Berlin  Decrees  brought  on  the  Peninsular 
War,  in  which  Sir  Arthur  Wellesley  (afterward  Duke  of 
Wellington)  made  himself  a  splendid  name.  It  was  not 
the  first  time  he  had  been  heard  of,  for  the  battle  of 
Assaye,  in  India  (1803),  where  Wellesley  defeated  30,- 
ooo  natives  with  less  than  one-sixth  of  their  number, 
had  already  shown  his  generalship.  Napoleon's  troops, 
under  General  Junot,  had  invaded  Portugal,  because  that 
country  refused  to  submit  to  the  Berlin  Decrees.  Wel- 
lesley gained  the  battle  of  Vimeira  (1808),  but  by  the 
"Convention  of  Cintra,"  between  England  and  France, 
he  was  obliged  to  leave  the  country.  Sir  John  Moore 
was  killed  in  the  battle  of  Corunna;t  his  soldiers 
defeated  the  enemy,  but  were  glad  afterward  to  escape 
to  England.  Wellesley  defeated  the  French  at  Talavera 
(after  which  he  was  made  Viscount  Wellington),  Busaco, 

*This  island  has  recently  (1890)  been  given  to  Prussia. 
+  The  poem  beginning,  "Not  a  drum  was  heard,  nor  a  funeral 
note, "  was  written  to  commemorate  this  event. 


382  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

Albuera,  Salamanca,  and  Vittoria  (1809-1813),  and  hav- 
ing driven  them  across  the  Pyrenees  into  their  own 
country,  pursued  them  as  far  as  Toulouse.  Then  he 
returned  to  England,  was  created  Duke  of  Wellington, 
and  took  his  seat  in  the  House  of  Lords. 

The  king's  old  malady,  insanity,  by  which  he  had  sev- 
eral times  before  been  attacked,  came  upon  him  hope- 
lessly in  1 8 10,  after  the  death  of  his  beloved  daughter, 
the  Princess  Amelia.  From  this  time  to  his  death  in 
1820,  George  III.  is  a  cipher  in  the  history  of  his  country. 
His  oldest  son,  the  Prince  of  Wales,  afterward  George 
IV.,  Was  appointed  regent. 

The  second  quarrel  of  the  United  States  with  England, 
commonly  called  the  War  of  1812,  was  preceded  by 
several  years  of  "strained  relations"  between  the  two- 
countries.  In  1807  Great  Britain,  in  retaliation  for 
Napoleon's  Berlin  Decrees,  issued  "Orders  ia  Council," 
forbidding  ships  of  any  nation  to  trade  with  France,  and 
assuming  the  right  to  capture  any  vessels  violating  this 
prohibition.  The  Americans  were  now  between  two 
fires.  England  had  long  claimed  the  right  of  searching 
their  ships  and  taking  from  them  by  force  any  sailors 
born  on  British  soil.  In  pursuance  of  this  claim,  the 
English  ship  Leopard  lay  in  wait  for  the  U.  S.  frigate 
Chesapeake,  out  of  Norfolk  harbor,  and  demanded  cer- 
tain men  stated  to  be  British  subjects.  The  American 
Commodore  Barren  refused  to  give  them  up,  whereupon 
the  Leopard  opened  fire  on  the  Chesapeake,  which, 
being  unprepared  for  fighting,  was  obliged  to  strike  her 
flag  and  surrender  the  men.  Outrages  like  this  at  last 
became  so  intolerable  that  war  was  declared,  June,  1812, 
under  President  Madison's  administration.  The  war  was 


UNION  WITH  IRELAND.       WATERLOO.         383 

conducted  mostly  by  sea  and  on  the  Great  Lakes  of  Am- 
erica, where  the  United  States'  navy  obtained  many 
successes.  By  land  it  was  carried  on  languidly,  and 
without  great  credit  to  either  party.  The  wanton  burn- 
ing of  public  buildings  at  Washington  (the  Capitol,  Presi- 
dent's house,  etc.),  without  even  the  pretence  of  military 
necessity,  seemed  more  like  the  action  of  savages  than 
of  the  representatives  of  a  civilized  nation.  Both  parties 
being  tired  of  the  war,  peace  was  made  at  Ghent  (Dec. 
24,  1814)  without  any  mention  of  the  original  matter  in 
dispute — the  claim  of  a  right  of  search.  Nevertheless, 
that  claim  has  not  been  asserted  since  then.  The  battle 
of  New  Orleans  (Jan.  8,  1815)  was  fought  two  weeks  after 
the  treaty  was  signed,  the  news  of  the  peace  not  having 
then  reached  this  country.  In  this  battle  the  British 
were  defeated  with  the  loss  of  two  thousand  men,  includ- 
ing their  general,  Pakenham,  while  the  Americans,  under 
General  Andrew  Jackson,  lost  only  a  handful. 

The  feature  of  this  war  which  is  of  greatest  interest  to 
Northwestern  Americans,  is  the  fact  that  in  prosecuting 
it  in  the  West,  the  British  repeated  the  cruel,  unpardon- 
able course  which  had,  in  revolutionary  times,  brought 
disgrace  upon  their  statesmanship  and  their  arms.  They 
made  allies  of  the  savage  Indians,  and  again  the  toma- 
hawk, the  seal  ping -knife,  and  the  torch  became  British 
weapons  through  their  use  by  their  friends  the  red  men. 
One  of  the  very  first  occurrences  of  the  war  was  the 
"Chicago  Massacre"  of  August  15,  1812.  News  was 
brought  to  Captain  Heald,  commandant  at  old  Fort 
Dearborn,  that  war  had  been  declared,  and  that  he  must 
evacuate  his  fort  and  withdraw  to  Fort  Wayne  with  all 
his  men,  together  with  settlers  and  their  families.  He 


384  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

was  told  that  the  Indians  would  fall  upon  them  merci- 
lessly as  soon  as  they  left  the  protection  of  the  'fort;  but 
he  first  tried  to  engage  their  services  as  guards  by  distrib- 
uting among  them  a  large  quantity  of  goods,  and  then 
started  out.  Before  they  had  gone  two  miles  the  savages 
attacked  them  and  killed  all,  men,  women,  and  children, 
except  a  score  or  so  whom  they  held,  some  for  torture 
and  some  for  ransom.  Next  day  they  burned  the  fort, 
and  Chicago  was  without  inhabitants  for  four  years. 

In  1814,  Napoleon,  having  wearied  out  humanity  with 
his  inordinate  ambition,  accompanied  by  its  frightful 
destruction  of  human  life,  was  forced  by  the  allies,  who 
had  been  fighting  him  under  different  coalitions  for  many 
years,  to  abdicate  and  retire  to  the  island  of  Elba.  To 
their  utter  astonishment  he  escaped,  and  reappeared  in 
France  the  next  year  at  the  head  of  an  army.  A  con- 
gress was  sitting  in  Vienna  for  the  purpose  of  reestab- 
lishing the  boundaries  he  had  deranged,  when  the  news 
was  brought  to  them.  The  Duke  of  Wellington,  who  was 
present,  hastened  home  to  impress  upon  Parliament  the 
necessity  of  proceeding  against  Napoleon  as  a  common 
enemy.  The  Parliament  responded  to  his  appeal,  an 
enormous  sum  was  voted  to  carry  on  the  war,  and  a  com- 
bination of  the  principal  European  powers  was  formed  to 
dethrone  the  emperor,  who  had  again  assumed  the  scep- 
tre, the  Bourbon  king,  Louis  XVIII.,  fleeing  before  him. 

Now  for  the  first  time  the  two  greatest  generals  of 
Europe  were  to  be  personally  opposed  to  each  other. 
Napoleon  was  confident  of  success.  He  is  reported  to 
have  said,  "Enfin,  je  vais  me  me'surer  avec  ce  Vilainton."* 

*"At  last,  I  am  going  to  match  myself  with  this  Wellington." 
(In  French  "vilain"  means  "low,  bad,  villainous." 


UNION   WITH  IRELAND.       WATERLOO.         385 

Each  laid  his  plans  with  the  utmost  skill.  Wellington 
intended  to  join  the  Prussian  general,  Blucher,  and 
attack  Paris;  Napoleon  aimed  to  meet  and  defeat  them 
separately.  He  marched  toward  Brussels,  drove  Blucher 
from  his  position  at  Ligny,  and  sent  Marshal  Grouchy 
after  him  to  prevent  his  union  with  Wellington.  The 
English  army  made  a  stand  at  Waterloo,  a  place  about 
twelve  miles  from  Brussels.  Here  Napoleon  attacked 
them  (June  18,  1815),  and  a  long  day's  struggle  ensued, 
both  sides  fighting  with  desperate  valor.  Toward  night- 
fall, Napoleon  gathered  up  all  his  strength  for  a  last 
charge;  the  "Old  Guard,"  who  had  been  his  companions 
on  many  an  eventful  field,  rushed  forward  only  to  meet, 
at  the  hands  of  the  English,  their  first  defeat.  Already 
the  detachment  of  Prussians  under  Blucher,  who  had 
out-marched  Grouchy,  had  appeared  upon  the  scene. 
The  French  columns  broke  and  fled,  pursued  by  the  vic- 
torious allies;  Napoleon  just  escaped  capture  as  he  drove 
furiously  away  in  his  carriage;  the  battle  of  Waterloo  was 
over;  his  standard  fallen,  never  to  rise  again. 

The  allies  marched  at  once  to  Paris,  where  Louis 
XVIII.  was  again  set  upon  his  throne.  The  emperor, 
after  a  vain  attempt  to  escape  to  America,  went  volun- 
tarily on  board  the  British  ship  Bellerophon,  saying  that 
he  wished  to  throw  himself  upon  the  protection  and 
hospitality  of  England.  But  he  was  too  dangerous  an 
enemy  of  society  to  be  let  loose  again  to  destroy  the 
peace  of  Europe;  and,  the  Regent  refusing  him  permis- 
sion to  set  foot  on  English  ground,  the  allies  decided 
that  he  should  be  sent  to  St.  Helena,  a  lonely,  rocky 
island  in  the  Atlantic  Ocean  west  of  Africa,  there  to  re- 
main a  prisoner  in  the  hands  of  the  British.  He  lived 


386  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

six  years  longer,  strictly  guarded,  at  St.  Helena,  and  died 
in  1821,  in  the  fifty-second  year  of  his  age. 


CHAPTER  XL  IX. 

DEATH   OF   GEORGE    III.       GEORGE    IV.       CATHOLIC    EMAN- 
CIPATION.      WILLIAM    IV. 

REAT  distress  followed  the  sudden  change  from 
war  to  peace.  The  suspension  of  trade  les- 
sened the  demand  for  labor,  and  the  numbers 
of  soldiers  and  sailors  suddenly  disbanded  increased  the 
trouble.  Food  became  so  dear  as  to  threaten  a  famine, 
and  many  riots  took  place  in  the  manufacturing  districts, 
where  the  newly  invented  machinery  for  saving  hand- 
work threw  many  persons  temporarily  out  of  employ- 
ment. Meetings  were  called,  loudly  demanding  reforms 
of  various  kinds,  and  at  one  of  these,  held  at  Manchester 
(1819),  several  persons  were  killed.*  The  popular  ora- 
tor Henry  Hunt,  and  the  political  economist  William 
Cobbett,  boldly  advocated  the  cause  of  the  working- 
man,  and  were  fined  and  imprisoned  in  consequence. 

In  1815,  the  Algerine  pirates  (who  had  been  put 
down  by  our  own  Decatur  in  1805)  were  again  rampant, 
and  Great  Britain  sent  an  expedition  against  them  which, 
in  connection  with  a  small  Dutch  squadron,  destroyed 
the  fortifications  of  Algiers  and  many  of  the  piratical 
vessels.  More  than  a  thousand  Christian  slaves  were 
liberated  and  nearly  that  number  of  men  lost  by  the 
English  in  the  action. 

*  This  occurrence  went  by  the  name  of  "  Peterloo. " 


GEORGE  IV.       WILLIAM  III.  387 

King  George  III.  died  in  1820,  at  eighty-two  years  of 
age,  after  a  reign  of  sixty  years,  the  longest  in  English 
history.  The  last  ten  years  of  his  life  were  passed  in 
darkness.  Blind  and  deaf,  as  well  as  insane,  he  was  a 
sorrowful  spectacle,  and  death  came  as  a  welcome  relief. 
His  faithful  and  excellent  wife,  Queen  Charlotte,  was 
carried  to  the  grave  only  a  few  months  before  him.  His 
son,  George  IV.,  had  long  been  Prince  Regent.  The 
little  grandchild  who  was  to  take  possession  of  his 
throne  seventeen  years  later  as  Queen  Victoria,  was 
born  the  year  before  his  death;  her  father,  the  Duke  of 
Kent,  died  a  week  before  the  king. 

In  his  private  character,  George  III.  was  amiable  and 
upright,  and  by  his  homely  simplicity  endeared  himself 
to  the  common  people.  As  both  he  and  Queen  Char- 
lotte were  economical  even  to  niggardliness,  they  were 
not  popular  with  the  court  circle,  who  would  have  pre- 
ferred greater  hospitality.  In  his  public  life  the  king 
was  undoubtedly  honest  and  conscientious,  but  his  narrow 
mind  and  unconquerable  obstinacy  were  the  cause  of 
great  injury  to  the  nation.  His  ideas  of  the  kingly  pre- 
rogative were  almost  as  absurd  as  those  of  the  Stuarts, 
but  his  faults  had  this  advantage :  they  made  it  impossi- 
ble for  any  subsequent  English  sovereign  to  repeat  his 
mistakes. 

The  regency  of  the  fourth  George  had  lasted  nine 
years  before  his  father's  death  (1811-1820),  so  that  no 
change  was  perceptible  in  the  government  when  he 
took  the  name  of  king.  A  plot,  called  the  Cato-Street 
Conspiracy,  was  formed  by  the  radicals  to  assassinate 
the  cabinet  ministers,  who  were  disliked  as  representing 
the  aristocracy.  It  was  discovered,  and  the  ringleaders, 


388  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


who  were  led  by  a  person  named  Thistlewood,  were 
executed. 

The  beginning  of  the  new  king's  reign  was  disgraced 
by  a  prosecution  of  his  wife,  Queen  Caroline,  whom  he 
had  married  only  for  her  money,  and  had  always  dis- 
liked. Accusing  her  of  misconduct,  he  subjected  her 
to  the  ignominy  of  a  public  triaty  in  which  she  was  de- 
fended by  the  popular  statesman,  Lord  Brougham,*  and 
honorably  acquitted.  The  Commons  showed  their  good- 
will to  her  by  voting  her  an  annuity  of  ^£50,000.  Not 
being  a  person  of  great  delicacy  of  feeling,  she  tried  to 
force  her  way  into  Westminster  Abbey  as  a  spectator 
on  the  occasion  of  the  king's  coronation;  but  her  un- 
feeling husband  had  given  orders  that  she  should  be 
excluded.  The  mortification  caused  by  this  repulse 
threw  her  into  an  illness,  of  which  she  died  in  less  than 
three  weeks  afterward  (1821).  Their  only  child,  the 
Princess  Charlotte,  married  to  Leopold  of  Saxe  Coburg 
(afterward  King  of  the  Belgians),  had  died  some  years 
before. 

George  IV.  was  a  traveling  king.  Soon  after  his 
coronation  he  visited  Ireland,  where  he  was  welcomed 
as  the  first  English  king  who  had  ever  gone  there  in 
peace.  Afterward  he  went  to  Hanover,  and  still  later 
made  a  tour  in  Scotland.  While  he  was  away  on  this 
latter  trip,  his  prime  minister,  Lord  Castlereagh,t  com- 
mitted suicide,  and  was  succeeded  in  his  post  by  George 
Canning,  a  distinguished  orator  and  statesman  (1822). 

Some  outrages  committed  in  India  by  the  government 
of  Burmah  furnished  an  excuse  for  annexing  a  part  of 
the  territory  belonging  to  that  country  (1826).  The 

*  Pronounced  Broom.  t  Pronounced  Castleray. 


GEORGE  IV.       WILLIAM  IV.  389 

next  year,  England  entered  into  the  war  which  Greece 
was  carrying  on  with  Turkey.  The  naval  battle  of 
Navarino,  in  which  the  combined  English,  French,  and 
Russian  squadrons  destroyed  the  Turkish  fleet,  ended 
the  war,  and  made  Greece  an  independent  kingdom. 
Prince  Otho  of  Bavaria  accepted  the  crown,  which  was 
not  a  coveted  one,  several  princes  declining  it.  Otho 
was  deposed  after  a  reign  of  nearly  thirty-five  years,  and 
Prince  George  of  Denmark,  brother  of  the  present 
Princess  of  Wales,  was  elected  king  in  his  place.  Lord 
Byron,  the  great  English  poet,  who  was  deeply  interested 
in  the  welfare  of  Greece,  spent  the  last  months  of  his 
life  there,  dying  at  Missilonghi  in  the  midst  of  the 
struggle  for  liberty  (1824). 

England  was  now  entering  upon  an  age  of  reform. 
Though  conservative  by  nature,  when  the  mind  of  the 
people  is  firmly  set  upon  doing  away  with  old  abuses, 
the  removal  of  these  follows,  notwithstanding  occasional 
drawbacks  and  disappointments.  Mr.  Huskisson,  pres- 
ident of  the  Board  of  Trade,  was  active  in  promoting  a 
spirit  of  commercial  liberality  tending  toward  free-trade, 
which  gradually  developed  into  that  system  which  has 
made  England  so  prosperous.  Taxation  was  reduced^ 
England  had  never  seemed  so  thriving;  but  the  excite- 
ment produced  by  this  state  of  things  led  to  over-specu- 
lation, and  a  panic  ensued  which  reduced  the  country 
nearly  to  the  verge  of  bankruptcy  (1825).  Many  of  the 
banks  stopped  payment,  and  the  government  was  barely 
able  to  save  its  own  credit.  A  great  number  of  busi- 
ness failures  followed;  and  it  was  long  before  a  feeling 
of  security  was  restored. 

Of  all  English  laws,  those  for  the  punishment  of  crime 


390  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

were  the  most  opposed  to  common  sense  and  to  Chris- 
tianity. Nearly  three  hundred  offences,  ranging  from 
pocket-picking  up  to  high-treason,  were  punishable  with 
death;  and  this  frightful  severity,  instead  of  suppressing 
crime,  seemed  only  to  increase  it.  By  the  unflagging 
exertions  of  Sir  Samuel  Romilly,  these  laws  were  very 
much  mitigated;  and  since  then  they  have  been  gradu- 
ally modified,  until  at  the  present  day  the  death -penalty 
is  inflicted  only  in  cases  of  wilful  murder  or  high-treason. 

The  time  was  now  ripe  for  the  repeal  of  the  Corpora- 
tion and  Test  Acts,  which  had  been  on  the  statute-book 
since  the  reign  of  Charles  II.  This  measure,  passed  in 
1828,  was  the  forerunner  of  a  more  important  one, 
the  Catholic  Relief  Bill,  which  restored  to  Roman 
Catholics  those  rights  of  which  they  had  been  deprived 
since  1673. 

This  was  brought  about  largely  by  the  efforts  of  Daniel 
O'Connell,  a  famous  Irish  orator  and  agitator,  who,  being 
elected  to  the  House  of  Commons  as  member  from  Clare, 
was  refused  admittance  to  it  on  account  of  his  religion. 
After  the  passage  of  the  bill,  he  took  his  seat  in  Parlia- 
ment and  continued  to  represent  his  country  there  for 
many  years. 

The  Catholic  Emancipation  Bill,  as  it  is  commonly 
called,  was  the  last  one  of  importance  passed  during  the 
reign  of  George  IV.,  who  died  in  1830,  at  the  age  of 
sixty-eight,  after  a  reign  of  ten  years.  Of  the  character 
of  this  monarch  there  is  little  to  be  said,  except  that  it 
was  contemptible.  He  was  a  man  of  good  abilities,  but 
selfish,  cold-hearted,  and  utterly  without  principle.  His 
private  life  was  a  scandal  to  the  nation,  and  he  had  no 
public  virtues.  Fortunately  the  time  was  past  when  the 


GEORGE  IV.       WILLIAM  IV.  391 

individual  character  of  the  ruler  could  do  harm,  except 
in  the  way  of  example. 

A  few  months  after  the  death  of  George  IV.,  the  first 
steam  railway  for  the  conveyance  of  passengers  was 
opened  in  England.  Five  years  before,  the  bill  of  the 
Liverpool  and  Manchester  Railway  had  been  passed, 
against  violent  opposition,  the  objection  being  that  with 
the  best  engine  that  could  be  found,  the  rate  of  progress 
was  but  little  more  than  three  miles  an  hour.  When 
some  of  the  committee  expressed  an  opinion  that  it 
might  be  possible  to  attain  a  speed  of  fifteen,  or  even 
twenty  miles  an  hour,  the  statement  was  called  a  gross 
exaggeration,  and  the  remark  was  made,  that  even  if  this 
rate  of  speed  could  be  attained,  the  danger  of  bursting 
boilers  would  be  so  great  that  people  would  as  soon 
allow  themselves  to  be  fired  off  from  a  rocket  as  to  trust 
their  lives  to  such  a  machine.  The  genius  of  George 
Stephenson,  a  self- trained  engineer,  was  soon  employed 
in  proving  to  the  world  that  the  so-called  visions  were 
sober  facts.  Other  inventors  were  at  work  to  lessen 
human  toil  and  increase  human  comfort.  Arkwright, 
Hargreaves,  and  Crompton  made  improvements  in  ma- 
chinery; Sir  Humphrey  Davy  invented  the  safety- lamp 
for  miners'  use,  and  MacAdam  taught  the  English  how 
to  make  good  roads.  Gas  had  been  introduced,  not 
only  into  the  streets  but  into  the  houses,  though  with 
great  opposition  from  the  whale-fishing  interest.  It  was 
thought  a  very  garish  and  unbecoming  light  for  domestic 
use,  although  its  value  in  preventing  crime  in  the  streets 
was  considered  beyond  question. 

If  we  look  at  the  list  of  writers  in  the  first  thirty  years 
of  the  century,  their  number  astonishes  us,  their  bril- 


392  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

liancy  dazzles  us.*  When  we  have  written  the  names  of 
Walter  Scott,  poet,  novelist,  essayist,  historian;  Byron, 
Wordsworth,  Coleridge,  Southey,  Campbell,  Moore,* 
and  many  others,  poets;  Lamb,  Hunt,  Landor,  De  Quin- 
cey,  Wilson,  Sidney  Smith,  and  Jeffrey,  essayists  and 
reviewers,  and  feel  that  the  list  is  only  begun,  we  stop 
short,  discouraged.  The  literary  history  of  the  time  is  in 
itself  so  full  of  interest  that  it  will  well  repay  careful  and 
extended  study.  As  a  help  toward  this,  read  Mrs.  Oli- 
phant's  "Literary  History  of  England,"  which  treats  of 
this  period. 

George  IV.  left  no  descendants.  His  next  brother, 
the  Duke  of  York,  died  three  years  before  him ;  and  the 
third  of  George  III.'s  sons,  the  Duke  of  Clarence,  suc- 
ceeded him  as  William  IV.  He  had  been  bred  to  the 
navy,  and  is  called  the  "Sailor-King." 


CHAPTER  L. 

PARLIAMENTARY   REFORM.       ABOLITION    OF   SLAVERY. 
VICTORIA. 

OR  a  long  time  the  question  of  Parliamentary 
reform  had  been  agitating  the  king,  the  Par- 
liament, and  the  people.  The  boroughs — 
election  districts  we  should  call  them  here — were  repre- 
sented just  as  they  had  been  hundreds  of  years  before,  no- 
notice  having  been  taken  of  the  fact  that  some  had 
grown  more  populous  and  others  less  so  in  the  mean 
time.  There  were  actually  some  districts  in  which  not 
*  Pronounced  More. 


ABOLITION  OF  SLAVERY.       VICTORIA.         393 

one  voter  lived,  where  the  rich  men  who  owned  the  land 
sent  such  persons  to  Parliament  as  they  chose;  while 
several  large  cities  which  had  become  great  manufactur- 
ing centres  were  without  a  representative  of  their  own. 
Added  to  this,  voting  was  restricted  to  people  who 
owned  property,  or  paid  large  rents,  thus  leaving  an  im- 
mense number  of  citizens  without  the  right  of  suffrage. 
The  Duke  of  Wellington,  who  was  William's  premier  as 
he  had  been  George's,  was  the  determined  enemy  of 
reform,  and  found  himself  so  unpopular  that  he  resigned 
his  office  (1830).  Lord  Grey,  an  advocate  of  the  pro- 
posed change,  succeeded  him. 

The  Reform  Bill  found  its  most  bitter  enemies  among 
the  nobility.  It  was  passed  more  than  once  by  the 
Commons,  and  as  often  thrown  out  by  the  House  of 
Lords,  who  considered  it  a  direct  attack  on  the  aristoc- 
racy. Even  in  the  House  of  Commons,  the  bill,  when 
first  read  by  Lord  John  Russell,  was  received  with  shouts 
of  laughter.  Sidney  Smith's*  famous  illustrations  of 
"Mrs.  Partington"  was  made  in  a  speech  on  this  occa- 

*  After  ridiculing  the  idea  that  the  House  of  Lords  could  prevent 
a  reform  in  Parliament,  he  said:  "I  do  not  mean  to  be  disrespect- 
ful, but  the  attempt  of  the  Lords  to  stop  the  progress  of  reform 
reminds  me  very  forcibly  of  the  great  storm  of  Sidmouth  and  the 
conduct  of  the  excellent  Mrs.  Partington  on  that  occasion.  A  great 
flood  had  set  in  at  the  time;  the  tide  rose  to  an  incredible  height; 
the  waves  rushed  in  upon  the  houses,  and  everything  was  threatened 
with  destruction.  In  the  midst  of  it  all,  Dame  Partington  was  seen 
at  the  door  of  her  house  with  mop  and  pattens,  trundling  her  mop, 
squeezing  out  the  sea-water,  and  vigorously  pushing  away  the  Atlan- 
tic Ocean.  The  Atlantic  was  roused.  Mrs.  Partington's  spirit  was 
up;  but  I  need  not  tell  you  that  the  contest  was  unequal.  The 
Atlantic  Ocean  beat  Mrs.  Partington.  She  was  excellent  at  a  slop 
or  a  puddle,  but  she  should  not  have  meddled  with  a  tempest. " 


394  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

sion.  It  seemed  impossible  to  believe  that  any  English- 
man could  seriously  vote  for  curtailing  the  privileges  of 
the  upper  classes. 

Whatever  was  the  determination  of  the  aristocracy,  the 
people  were  equally  resolute.  During  the  time  when  the 
measure  was  in  suspense,  riots  broke  out  in  many  places, 
public  buildings  were  destroyed,  lives  were  lost,  and 
confusion  and  apprehension  prevailed  everywhere.  The 
populace  shouted  madly,  "The  bill,  the  whole  bill  and 
nothing  but  the  bill !"  Frightful  disturbances  in  Ireland 
accompanied  the  agitation  of  this  question.  Tax-col- 
lectors were  murdered,  property  burned,  and  so  many 
excesses  committed  that  it  was  found  necessary,  for  a 
time,  to  place  some  districts  under  martial  law  (1832). 
After  years  of  struggle,  the  long-contested  bill  was  passed, 
the  king  giving  a  hearty  consent  to  it,  June,  1832. 

The  three  main  provisions  of  this  act  (which  has  been 
called  the  greatest  revolution  experienced  by  England 
since  that  which  placed  William  and  Mary  on  the  throne, 
1689),  were  :  i.  The  withdrawal  of  the  right  of  sending 
members  to  Parliament  from  small  districts,  commonly 
called  "rotten  boroughs;"  2.  The  bestowal  of  the  same 
right  on  cities  and  districts  with  two  thousand  inhabi- 
tants and  upward;  3.  The  giving  the  franchise  in  towns 
to  all  persons  occupying  houses  worth  in  rent  ^10 
a  year,  and  in  the  country  to  persons  owning  land  worth 
^10  a  year,  or  who  paid  a  yearly  rent  of  at  least  £$o. 
With  these  concessions  the  nation  was  perfectly  satis- 
fied, and  it  was  not  until  i867~'68  that  laws  were  passed 
further  extending  the  franchise.  Now  it  embraces  not 
only  householders  paying  rent,  but  also  lodgers. 

In  the  midst  of  the  excitement  attending  the  passage 


ABOLITION  OF  SLAVERY.       VICTORIA.         395 

of  the  Reform  Bill,  the  Asiatic  cholera  broke  out  for 
the  first  time  in  England  (1831).  Terrible  as  was  this 
visitation  at  the  time,  it  proved  a  blessing  in  the  end, 
•calling  public  attention  to  those  sanitary  precautions 
which  before  had  been  strangely  neglected,  and  causing 
improvement  among  the  body  of  the  people  in  habits 
of  cleanliness  and  comfort. 

The  year  1833  witnessed  one  of  the  great  moral  tri- 
umphs of  the  century  —  the  passage  of  the  law  for 
abolishing  slavery  in  the  British  colonies.  William 
Wilberforce,  who  had  been  since  1789  spending  his  life 
in  trying  to  bring  about  this  object,  lived  just  long 
enough  to  see  the  bill  become  a  certainty,  dying  before 
it  went  into  operation,  which  took  place  Aug.  i,  1834. 
The  sum  of  ^£20,000,000  was  awarded  to  the  planters 
as  payment  for  the  loss  of  their  "property."  Nearly 
three-quarters  of  a  million  of  human  beings  were  set 
free  by  this  measure. 

In  the  following  year  (1834),  Lord  Grey,  the  premier, 
under  whose  administration  the  reform  bills  had  been 
carried  through,  resigned,  and  was  succeeded  for  a  short 
time  by  Sir  Robert  Peel,  who  soon  gave  place  to  Lord 
Melbourne.  The  latter  remained  in  office,  except  for  a 
short  interruption,  until  after  the  accession  of  Queen 
Victoria.  At  the  same  time,  the  tory  party  assumed  the 
name  of  "Conservatives."  At  a  later  day,  the  whigs 
took  the  name  of  "Liberals,"  and  the  old  appellations 
have  almost  dropped  out  of  use. 

King  William  IV.  died  June  20,  1837,  after  a  reign 
of  almost  exactly  seven  years.  He  was  a  man  of  many 
good  qualities,  among  which  sincerity,  fairness  of  mind, 
a  strong  sense  of  justice,  and  great  zeal  and  industry  in 


396  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

the  public  service  were  conspicuous.  From  the  obsti- 
nacy of  his  father,  King  George  III.,  he  seems  to  have 
been  quite  free;  and  his  use  (or  misuse)  of  the  royal 
prerogative  was  so  slight  compared  with  that  of  his 
father  and  elder  brother,  that  he  approached  the  ideal 
of  a  constitutional  king.  The  full  realization  of  this 
ideal,  however,  was  reserved  for  the  next  reign. 

Besides  the  statesmen  who  have  already  been  men- 
tioned, there  were  in  this  period  Sir  Robert  Peel,  after- 
ward renowned  for  his  opposition  to  the  corn-laws; 
Lord  Brougham,  noted  for  his  brilliant  and  versatile 
talent,  and  for  his  efforts  in  the  cause  of  reform ;  and 
Lord  Palmerston,  the  advocate  of  Catholic  emancipa- 
tion, afterward  prime  minister.  Mr.  Gladstone  first  took 
his  seat  in  Parliament  in  1832  (as  a  Conservative),  at 
twenty-three  years  of  age. 

Alexandrina  Victoria,  daughter  of  George  III.'s  fourth 
son,  the  Duke  of  Kent,  became  queen  on  the  death  of 
her  uncle,  William  IV.,  when  she  was  just  eighteen 
years  of  age.  It  had  long  been  known  that  she  would 
occupy  that  position,  and  she  had  been  most  carefully 
trained  by  her  mother  for  its  duties.  Her  manners  were 
simple  and  girlish,  though  dignified,  and  she  had  a 
strong  sense  of  duty  and  of  the  responsibilities  of  her 
office.  Her  way  of  glancing  at  Lord  Melbourne,  the 
premier,  for  instructions,  when  she  presided  at  the  first 
meeting  of  the  privy  council,  is  said  to  have  been  pecu- 
liarly modest  and  graceful.  As  the  crown  of  Hanover 
could  descend  only  to  a  male,  the  sovereigns  of  England 
ceased  to  have  any  connection  with  that  country  at  the 
death  of  William  IV.,  and  that  kingdom  passed  to  his 
next  oldest  surviving  brother,  the  Duke  of  Cumberland. 


ABOLITION  OF  SLAVERY.       VICTORIA.         397 

An  interesting  incident  in  the  annals  of  this  period  is 
the  election  of  Mr.  Moses  Montefiore,  a  Jew,  to  be 
sheriff  of  London.  The  queen  knighted  him,  and  we 
have  read  within  a  few  years  of  his  celebrating  his  one 
hundredth  birthday,  and  of  his  death  not  long  afterward. 
It  is  pleasant  to  know  that  the  honors  at  which  he  ar- 
rived were  due,  not  to  his  great  wealth,  but  to  his  noble 
and  life-long  charities. 

The  first  political  event  in  her  majesty's  reign  was  a 
rebellion  in  Canada,  in  which  some  adventurers  from 
the  United  States  took  part,  but  which  was  soon  put 
down.  Upper  and  Lower  Canada  were  afterward  joined 
in  one  (1840),  and  both  were  at  length  merged  in  the 
"  Dominion  of  Canada,"  which  united  the  British  pos- 
sessions from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific  under  one  gov- 
ernment (1867).  There  were  not  wanting  statesmen  at 
the  time  of  the  first  revolt  who  advised  letting  Canada 
go.  They  thought  the  time  had  come  when  a  peaceful 
separation  would  be  for  the  interest  of  both  parties; 
but  they  were  overruled,  and  our  northern  neighbor  still 
lives  under  the  British  flag. 

As  China  refused  to  allow  the  carrying  of  opium  (a 
source  of  profit  to  English  merchants)  into  her  territory, 
a  war  with  that  country  was  the  consequence  (1839), 
which  ended  in  the  storming  and  taking  by  British  troops 
of  several  Chinese  cities,  including  the  capital,  Pekin. 
The  empire  was  forced  to  pay  ^"21,000,000  for  the  ex- 
penses of  the  war,  to  open  five  ports  to  English  com- 
merce, and  to  give  up  the  island  and  city  of  Hong  Kong 
forever  to  the  English.  Of  the  morality  of  this  triumph 
it  is  scarcely  necessary  to  express  an  opinion. 

In  1839  occurred  the  first  great  "Chartist"  demon- 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


stration.  A  huge  petition,  signed  by  more  than  a  mil- 
lion of  people,  was  rolled  into  Parliament  like  a  hogs- 
head. The  petitioners  demanded  universal  suffrage, 
annual  Parliaments,  vote  by  ballot,  abolition  of  any 
property  qualification  for  members  of  Parliament,  and 
the  payment  of  these  members,  who  get  nothing  in  return 
for  their  time  and  labor,  except  the  honor  of  serving  their 
country.  None  of  these  things  were  granted  at  the  time, 
the  subject  having  been  too  recently  set  at  rest  by  the 
Reform  Bill  to  make  it  worth  while  to  reopen  it;  and 
finding  that  they  could  accomplish  nothing,  the  Chartists 
gradually  calmed  down. 

In  1840  Queen  Victoria  married  her  cousin,  Prince 
Albert  of  Saxe  Coburg  Gotha — a  man  whose  sterling 
qualities  of  mind  and  heart  quickly  endeared  him  to  the 
English  people.  He  was  indeed  a  model  prince.  Enlight- 
ened, large-minded,  conscientious,  and  highly  accom- 
plished, his  influence  was  always  exerted  on  the  side  of 
right,  while  his  private  character  was  without  reproach. 

Almost  simultaneous  with  this  happy  marriage  was 
the  introduction  into  England  of  the  system  of  penny- 
postage,  brought  about  by  the  persistent  efforts  of  Sir 
Rowland  Hill  (1840).  At  the  same  time  originated  the 
practice  of  affixing  stamps  for  prepaying  postage,  which 
has  now  become  universal  in  the  civilized  world. 

The  English,  having  interfered  in  the  domestic  affairs 
of  Afghanistan,  were  expelled  from  the  city  of  Cabul,  of 
which  they  had  taken  possession,  by  an  insurrection  of 
the  natives  (1841),  and  almost  the  entire  army  of  17,000 
men  perished  from  cold  and  hunger  and  the  attacks  of 
their  enemies  in  the  dreadful  retreat  across  the  moun- 
tains into  India.  The  next  year  Lord  Ellenborough,  the 


ABOLITION  OF  SLAVERY.       VICTORIA.         399 

governor-general  of  India,  destroyed  the  fortifications  of 
Cabul,  and  then  abandoned  the  country  to  the  natives. 
A  war  in  India  followed;  Sir  Charles  Napier  conquered 
Scinde  (Sind)  1843,  and  the  Punjaub,  a  great  country  in 
northern  India,  was  annexed,  after  fierce  fighting,  to  the 
British  dominions.  This  gave  the  English  the  control 
of  the  entire  peninsula  of  Hindostan. 

It  was  by  the  interposition  of  the  English  government 
in  the  affairs  of  Egypt  that  that  country  was  made  prac- 
tically independent  of  Turkey  (1841).  Mehemet  Ali, 
who  had  taken  possession  of  Syria  (also  a  province  of 
Turkey),  was  obliged  to  withdraw  his  forces  and  to  con- 
fine himself  to  Egypt,  the  latter  being  yielded  to  him 
as  a  virtually  independent  monarch,  with  the  title  of 
"Hereditary  Viceroy." 


CHAPTER   LI. 

BOUNDARY  TREATIES.       CORN -LAWS   REPEALED. 
CRIMEAN   WAR. 

HE  Treaty  of  Ghent  (1815)  following  the  war 
of  1812,  had  left  unsettled  the  northwestern 
boundary  of  the  United  States,  the  territory 
on  the  Pacific  coast  seeming  at  that  time  too  unimport- 
ant to  be  worthy  of  mention.  For  many  years,  a  joint 
occupation  of  the  tract  now  comprising  our  states  of 
Oregon  and  Washington  and  the  territory  of  British 
Columbia,  had  been  agreed  upon;  but  by  1846,  immi- 
grants were  pouring  in  so  rapidly  to  the  great  country 
watered  by  the  Columbia,  that  a  treaty  was  made,  fixing 


400  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

the  boundary  at  49°  of  latitude,  which  divided  very  fairly 
the  land  in  question.  The  "  Webster  -Ashburton"  treaty 
had  settled  the  long -disputed  question  of  the  north- 
eastern boundary  of  our  country  four  years  before  (1842). 

Of  all  the  unpopular  laws  ever  passed  in  England,  few 
have  caused  such  bitterness  of  feeling  as  the  Corn -law 
of  1815,  which  forbade  the  importation  of  foreign  wheat* 
until  the  price  at  home  reached  80  shillings  a  quarter — 
almost  starvation  point.  This  measure,  intended  to 
benefit  the  land-owner  at  the  expense  of  the  consumer, 
was,  like  other  laws  enacted  in  favor  of  the  privileged 
classes,  upheld  by  the  whole  force  of  the  wealthy  land- 
holding  interest;  and  its  repeal  was  bitterly  denounced 
as  an  attack  upon  the  rights  of  property.  A  strong 
Free-Trade  party  had  been  for  a  long  time  growing  in 
England,  and  an  "Anti-  Corn  -Law  League"  had  been 
formed  in  1839.  Sir  Robert  Peel,  who  had  at  first  been 
in  favor  of  protective  legislation,  now  gave  his  whole 
support  to  the  movement  for  repeal.  Richard  Cobden 
and  John  Bright  were  on  the  same  side,  urging  the  abro- 
gation, not  only  of  the  Corn-Laws,  but  of  all  others  that 
conflicted  with  the  principles  of  free-trade,  including  the 
old  navigation  laws,  which  were  still  in  force.  After 
frantic  opposition  the  bill  for  repeal  was  passed  (1846). 

Sir  Robert  Peel,  who  had  been  prime-minister  since 
1841,  resigned  his  office  in  the  same  year  in  which  the 
Repeal  was  carried  to  its  triumphant  conclusion.  The 
ostensible  cause  of  trouble  was  his  failure  to  carry  a  bill 
for  putting  down  disturbances  in  Ireland;  but  the  real 
difficulty  was  the  anger  felt  by  the  Conservatives  at  his 
change  of  policy  in  respect  to  free-trade.  Lord  John 

*  In  England  "corn"  is  the  general  name  for  all  grain. 


BOUNDARY  TREATIES.       CRIMEAN  WAR.      401 

Russell  became  premier,  and  Mr.  Disraeli  (afterward 
Lord  Beaconsfield)  first  came  into  notice  as  a  leader  of 
the  Protectionists.  There  were  some  indications  of  Sir 
Robert  Peel's  returning  to  power,  when  he  was  killed  by 
a  fall  from  his  horse  (1850). 

In  1848  (called  the  "year  of  revolutions,"  from  the 
upheaval  of  many  of  the  ancient  tyrannical  governments 
of  the  continent),  a  new  demonstration  of  the  Chartists 
took  place.  They  demanded  the  same  changes  that  had 
been  asked  for  in  1839,  and  had  made  preparations  for 
enforcing  their  demands  by  arms;  but  the  Duke  of  Wel- 
lington took  such  efficient  precautions  against  a  breach 
of  the  peace  that  the  agitation  was  quieted  without  the 
loss  of  a  life. 

The  first  "World's  Fair,"  or  exhibition  of  the  industry, 
products,  and  art  of  all  nations,  was  held  in  Hyde  Park, 
London,  in  1851.  Prince  Albert  conceived  the  grand 
idea  of  thus  bringing  together  the  nations  of  the  world 
on  common  ground,  and  the  example  has  been  followed 
by  other  countries.  The  exposition  to  be  held  in  Chicago 
in  1893  is  the  latest  of  the  many  which  have  sprung  from 
this  precedent. 

The  attempted  encroachments  of  Russia  on  Turkish 
territory  induced  England  and  France  (the  latter  being 
then  under  the  rule  of  Napoleon  III.)  to  combine  against 
the  Czar  in  what  is  known  as  the  Crimean  War  (1854-6). 
After  an  unsuccessful  attempt  to  attack  the  Russian 
fortress  of  Cronstadt,  in  the  Baltic,  the  English  fleet 
under  Sir  Charles  Napier,  joined  the  French  one  under 
Marshal  St.  Arnaud,  and  both  proceeded  to  blockade 
the  harbor  of  Sebastopol,  in  the  Crimea.  A  combined 
force  of  English  and  French  landed  on  the  coast,  and, 
26 


402  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

after  defeating  the  Russians  at  the  crossing  of  the  river 
Alma,  attacked  the  strongly  fortified  town  of  Sebastopol. 
The  Russians  made  desperate  efforts  to  raise  the  siege, 
in  the  course  of  which  the  battles  of  Balaklava  and  Inker- 
mann  were  fought.  At  the  former  of  these  occurred  the 
mistake  commemorated  in  Tennyson's  "Charge  of  the 
Light  Brigade."  The  sufferings  of  the  English  army  dur- 
ing the  ensuing  winter  were  terrible;  partly  on  account 
of  the  loss,  in  a  terrible  storm,  of  many  vessels  loaded 
with  supplies,  but  still  more  because  of  the  wretched 
arrangements  prevailing  in  the  English  army  for  the  dis- 
tribution to  the  troops  of  the  necessaries  of  life.  Men 
perished  in  the  camps  and  hospitals  by  thousands.  The 
country  was  a  sea  of  mud  under  the  terrible  storms  of 
a  Crimean  winter.  Horses  fought  each  other  for  the 
few  and  scanty  rations  that  were  served  out  to  them, 
the  cavalrymen  and  artillerymen  each  trying  to  fight 
off  the  animals  of  the  other  from  devouring  their 
miserable  supply.  At  one  time,  the  entire  transport 
corps  had  dwindled  to  less  than  a  dozen  living  beasts, 
while  the  carcasses  of  the  dead  lay  unburied  by  hundreds 
about  them.  The  French  suffered  immensely,  though 
not  so  much  as  the  English,  because  their  military 
system  had  been  more  perfectly  maintained  during  the 
preceding  years.  Cholera  broke  out  in  both  armies, 
and  more  deaths  resulted  from  it  than  from  all  other 
causes  put  together.  Of  the  24,000  English  soldiers 
who  died  during  the  progress  of  the  war,  scarcely  one- 
sixth  died  in  battle  or  from  wounds  received. 

After  Parliament  became  aware  of  the  state  of  things 
in  the  Crimea,  a  vote  of  censure  was  passed  against  the 
ministry,  and  Lord  Palmerston  was  called  to  office  in 


BOUNDARY  TREATIES.       CRIMEAN  WAR.      403 

place  of  Lord  Aberdeen,  the  former  premier,  who  had 
succeeded  Lord  John  Russell  a  few  years  before. 

When  the  sickness  caused  by  hardship  and  exposure 
was  at  its  height,  Miss  Florence  Nightingale,  an  English 
lady  who  had  made  hospital -work  the  subject  of  many 
years  of  study,  went  to  the  Crimea,  taking  with  her  a 
supply  of  nurses  and  of  things  which  sick  men  need,  and 
the  whole  aspect  of  things  began  to  improve.  She  went 
among  the  sick  and  wounded  like  an  angel  of  light,  and 
from  that  time  forth,  an  English  writer  has  said,  there 
was  at  least  one  department  of  the  business  of  war 
which  was  never  again  a  subject  of  complaint.  Long- 
fellow's "Santa  Filomena"  was  suggested  by  Miss  Night- 
ingale and  her  work: 

"  Lo  !  in  that  house  of  misery 
A  lady  with  a  lamp  I  see 

Pass  through  the  glimmering  gloom, 
And  flit  from  room  to  room. " 

Meantime,  the  siege  of  Sebastapol  went  slowly  on. 
Lord  Raglan,  a  survivor  of  the  Peninsular  War  and  the 
battle  of  Waterloo,  and  who  had  been  at  the  head  of 
the  army  since  its  first  arrival,  died  in  1855.  The  first 
French  commander,  Marshal  St.  Arnaud,  had  died  the  year 
before,  and-  been  succeeded  first  by  General  Canrobert, 
and  later  by  General  Pelissier.  Lord  Raglan's  successor, 
General  Simpson,  remained  through  the  war.  The  Rus- 
sian emperor,  Nicholas,  also  died  in  1855,  and  his 
son,  Alexander  II.,  carried  on  the  war  until  September 
of  the  same  year,  when,  the  allied  armies  having  de- 
stroyed one  after  another  the  magnificent  fortifications 
of  the  town,  the  place  was  evacuated  by  the  Russians, 
who  did  their  best  to  make  it  another  Moscow.  In 


404  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

the  peace  of  Paris  which  followed  (1856),  Russia*  gave 
up  all  claim  to  the  provinces  on  the  Danube  which  she 
had  tried  to  seize  from  Turkey;  vessels  of  war  of  all  na- 
tions were  excluded  from  the  Black  Sea,  except  a  few 
under  each  flag  to  serve  as  a  sort  of  armed  naval  police ; 
and  the  Christian  subjects  of  Turkey  were  declared  to 
be  under  the  protection  of  all  the  contracting  powers. 

A  terrible  mutiny  in  India  (1857)  next  engaged  the 
attention  of  England.  The  Enfield  rifle,  for  which  it 
was  necessary  to  use  greased  cartridges,  had  been  intro- 
duced into  the  army,  and  the  Sepoys  (native  troops), 
whose  religion  forbids  their  using  certain  kinds  of  meat, 
revolted,  because  they  were  forced  to  bite  off  the  ends 
of  the  greased  cartridges.  At  Delhi,  Cawnpore,  and 
Lucknow,  insurrections  took  place,  accompanied  by 
frightful  cruelties  on  the  part  of  the  natives.  The  re- 
bellion was  crushed  only  after  a  two  years'  struggle, 
Sir  Henry  Havelock,  Sir  Colin  Campbell  (afterward 
Lord  Clyde),  and  Lord  Lawrence  being  among  the 
many  distinguished  officers  who  succeeded  in  bringing 
it  to  a  conclusion.  The  atrocities  which  the  natives  (par- 
ticularly those  of  a  company  led  by  a  wretch  called 
Nana  Sahib)  inflicted  on  all  English,  especially  women, 
are  such  as  to  defy  description.  The  English,  taking 
advantage  of  the  fact  that  is  a  part  of  the  Hindoo  belief 
that  the  body  must  be  kept  intact  in  order  that  the  soul 

*"  It  is  not  Sebastapol  which  we  have  left  to  them, "  said  Prince 
Gortschakoff,  the  Russian  general,  "  but  the  burning  ruins  of  the 
town  which  we  ourselves  set  fire  to,  having  maintained  the  honor 
of  the  defence  in  such  a  manner  that  our  great-grandchildren  may 
recall  with  pride  the  remembrance  of  it,  and  send  it  on  to  all  pos- 
terity." 


BOUNDARY  TREATIES.      CRIMEAN  WAR.      405 

may  enjoy  immortality,  inflicted  a  punishment  which 
was  supposed  to  have  a  peculiarly  terrifying  effect  on 
the  minds  of  the  natives.  Such  as  had  been  convicted 
of  any  personal  share  in  the  outrages  were  bound  to  the 
muzzles  of  loaded  cannon,  and  blown  to  pieces  and 
scattered  to  the  winds  by  the  discharge. 

The  Sepoy  rebellion  having  shown  the  incapacity  of 
the  East- India  Company  to  manage  the  affairs  of  a 
mighty  nation,  the  company  was  dissolved,  and  the  ad- 
ministration of  its  affairs  transferred  to  the  crown  (1858). 
A  royal  viceroy  took  the  place  of  the  governor  general; 
and  a  new  office,  that  of  Secretary  of  Indian  affairs,  was 
created,  the  holder  of  which  has  a  seat  in  her  majesty's 
cabinet.  At  a  later  time,  Queen  Victoria  was  formally 
proclaimed  Empress  of  India  (1877). 

In  1 86 1  Prince  Albert  died,  a  loss  not  only  to  his 
own  family  but  to  the  nation.  It  was  the  year  of  the 
breaking  out  of  our  Civil  War,  and  the  prince,  with  his 
right  feeling  and  good  judgment,  had  thrown  his  influ- 
ence altogether  on  the  side  of  preserving  kindly  relations. 
The  English  government  had,  with  what  seemed  un- 
warrantable haste,  recognized  the  Confederate  govern- 
ment as  a  belligerent,*  without  even  waiting  until  our 
minister,  Mr.  Charles  Francis  Adams,  could  have  time 
to  arrive  in  England  and  represent  the  matter.  This 
action,  under  the  circumstances,  created  much  ill-feeling 
in  this  country,  which  was  increased  when,  at  a  later 
time,  Great  Britain  allowed  the  Confederacy  to  build 
and  equip  steamers  in  her  harbors  for  the  purpose  of 
destroying  our  commerce.  On  the  other  hand,  an  Amer- 
ican naval  officer,  Capt.  Wilkes,  took  by  force  from  the 

*A  power  entitled  to  make  war  on  another. 


406  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

British  steamer  Trent,  two  ambassadors  from  the  Con- 
federate states,  sent  to  England  and  France  respectively. 
This  unjustifiable  action  caused  great  excitement  in  Eng- 
land, but  on  the  demand  of  Great  Britain,  the  ambas- 
sadors were  given  up.  "Right  of  Search"  was  no  more. 

After  the  close  of  the  War  for  the  Union,  the 
United  States  demanded  reparation  for  injuries  in- 
flicted on  our  commerce  by  the  Alabama  and  other 
Confederate  cruisers  built  and  equipped  in  England. 
Commissioners  from  both  countries  met  at  Washington 
(1871)  and  signed  a  treaty  by  which  it  was  agreed  to 
refer  the  matter  to  five  arbitrators,  to  be  appointed 
respectively  by  England,  the  United  States,  Italy,  Brazil, 
and  the  Swiss  Confederation.  These  met  at  Geneva,  in 
Switzerland  (1872)  and  decided  that  the  British  govern- 
ment should  pay  to  the  United  States  the  sum  of  $15,- 
500,000,  to  be  given  to  its  citizens  for  losses  incurred  by 
the  depredations  on  the  high  seas  of  the  English  Confed- 
erate cruisers. 

A  disputed  question  as  to  the  ownership  of  the  island 
of  San  Juan,  in  the  straits  between  Vancouver  Island 
and  our  Territory  of  Washington,  was  referred  to  the 
Emperor  of  Germany,  William  I.  He  decided  that  the 
American  claim  to  the  island  was  a  just  one,  and  the  last 
question  of  boundaries  between  the  United  States  and 
the  Dominion  of  Canada  was  settled  by  the  evacuation 
of  the  island  by  Great  Britain,  November,  1873. 

After  the  death  of  Lord  Palmerston  in  1865,  the  leading 
men  in  the  British  government  were  Earl  Russell  (form- 
erly Lord  John  Russell)  and  Mr.  Gladstone,  liberals;  and 
Mr.  Disraeli  (Lord  Beaconsfield)  conservative. 


TREATY  OF  BERLIN.     EGYPT.     JUBILEE.      407 
CHAPTER  LI  I. 

TREATY    OF    BERLIN.       EGYPT.       THE    QUEEN'S    JUBILEE. 

|  HAT  is  called  "The  Eastern  Question,"— that 
is,  the  standing  quarrel  between  Russia  and 
Turkey — was  not  finally  settled  by  that  Treaty 
of  Paris  which  closed  the  German  war.  Twenty  years 
later  the  Eastern  countries  were  again  fighting  each 
other,  and  as  British  interests  were  involved  in  the  war, 
Lord  Beaconsfield,  the  prime-minister  of  England,  acted 
as  arbitrator  between  the  contestants.  The  negotiations 
were  closed  by  the  Treaty  of  Berlin  (1878)  and  the  island 
of  Cyprus  was  placed  under  English  rule  and  occupation 
as  a  security  for  the  fulfilment  by  Turkey  of  her  part  of 
the  treaty.  This  transaction  reflected  great  honor  on 
the  Earl  of  Beaconsfield,  who  continued  to  be  prime 
minister  until  the  defeat  of  his  party  caused  him  to  retire, 
whereupon  Mr.  Gladstone  formed  a  new  ministry  (1881). 
During  the  last  twenty  years  England  has  been  gradu- 
ally acquiring  more  and  more  control  in  Africa.  In  1875 
the  government  purchased  from  the  Khedive  (the  ruler 
•of  Egypt)  all  his  shares  of  the  Suez  Canal  stock,  in  order 
to  secure  control  of  that  route  to  India.  In  spite  of  the 
relief  afforded  by  this  payment,  the  Egyptian  govern- 
ment became  so  deeply  indebted  to  foreign  nations  as 
to  bring  about  an  interference  in  its  affairs  by  several 
European  countries,  which  resulted  in  a  sort  of  joint 
protectorate  over  it.  This  state  of  things  produced  great 
discontent  in  Egypt,  and  an  insurrection  broke  out  in  the 
army,  headed  by  an  officer  named  ArabL  The  Khedive 


408  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

being  unable  to  restore  order,  the  rebels  gradually  grew 
bolder,  and  in  1882  attacked  the  European  population 
of  Alexandria,  massacring  several  hundred  of  them,  and 
Arabi  took  possession  of  the  fortifications.  Admiral 
Seymour,  commander  of  a  British  fleet  in  the  harbor, 
bombarded  the  stronghold,  and  Arabi  and  his  troops 
fled.  Sir  Garnet  Wolseley  was  now  sent  to  Egypt  with  a 
force  of  25,000  men,  and  fought  the  battle  of  Tel  el 
Kebir  with  Arabi,  in  which  the  latter  was  defeated  and 
made  prisoner.  He  was  tried  for  rebellion  and  sentenced 
to  death,  but  the  penalty  was  commuted  to  banishment. 

The  next  year  another  rebellion  against  the  Khedive 
called  for  the  intervention  of  England.  An  adventurer 
calling  himself  the  Mahdi,  or  redeemer  of  the  Moham- 
medans, had  excited  the  people  of  the  Soudan  (an  im- 
mense district  including  the  Upper  Nile,  subject  to 
Egypt),  to  rise  against  the  Egyptian  government.  The 
British  military  occupation  of  the  country  had  been  con- 
tinued, and  General  Hicks,  an  English  officer  leading 
Egyptian  troops,  was  sent  against  the  Mahdi,  but  was 
defeated  and  slain,  together  with  his  whole  army  (1883). 

Great  Britain,  having  determined  to  abandon  the  Sou- 
dan and  treat  with  the  Mahdi,  sent  General  Charles 
Gordon,  an  officer  who  had  distinguished  himself  in  the 
Crimea  and  in  China,  to  settle  the  terms  and  withdraw 
the  British  troops  from  the  country.  In  1884,  he  went 
to  Khartoum,  in  Nubia,  where  he  proposed  and  pro- 
claimed terms  which  the  Mahdists  treated  with  contempt. 
Not  being  provided  by  the  home  government  with  a 
sufficient  military  force  to  return  across  the  desert,  he  was 
besieged  by  the  Mahdi  in  that  place,  and,  before  the  force 
sent  to  his  rescue  by  Lord  Wolseley  could  reach  him,  he 


TREATY  OF  BERLIN.     EGYPT.     JUBILEE.      409 

was  assassinated.  The  British  operations  in  the  Soudan 
proved  a  failure.  The  lives  of  many  officers  and  men 
were  sacrificed,  and  the  whole  army  retired  in  1885, 
though  British  occupation  of  Egypt  went  on. 

Africa  has  been  the  scene  of  various  other  interventions 
on  the  part  of  England.  In  1868  the  king  of  Abyssinia 
in  Eastern  Africa  ill-treated  some  English  residents  in 
that  country,  upon  which  Sir  Robert  Napier  stormed 
and  took  his  capital,  Magdala,  and  the  king  killed  him- 
self. In  a  war  in  Western  Africa  with  the  Ashantees 
(1872),  their  town  of  Coomassie  was  burned  by  an  army 
under  Sir  Garnet  Wolseley.  In  1877  a  war  with  the 
Boers  of  the  Transvaal  Republic,  in  South  Africa,  ended 
in  the  defeat  of  the  British,  who  abandoned  the  country. 
In  1879  a  British  force  in  Zululand  (South  Africa)  was 
attacked  and  almost  destroyed  by  the  savages.  In  re- 
turn Sir  Garnet  Wolseley  burned  their  towns,  defeated 
and  captured  their  king,  Cetewayo,  and  forced  a  speedy 
peace.  The  son  of  Napoleon  III.  (the  Prince  Imperial) 
who  had  accompanied  the  English  army  as  a  volunteer, 
was  killed  in  a  skirmish  with  the  natives. 

At  the  same  time  with  these  operations  in  Africa,  a 
war  brought  on  by  English  jealousy  of  Russia  was  going 
on  in  Afghanistan.  The  Ameer  (ruler  of  the  natives) 
refused  to  receive  an  English  embassy,  though  he  had 
already  admitted  one  from  Russia.  The  English  there- 
upon invaded  the  country  and  forced  it  to  accept  a 
British  resident  minister  at  Cabul,  the  capital.  The  resi- 
dent and  his  suite  having  been  murdered,  General  Rob- 
erts entered  the  city  with  his  forces  and  inflicted  severe 
punishment  on  the  Afghans.  After  much  fighting  the 
latter  were  subdued,  and  matters  were  arranged  to  the 


410  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

satisfaction  of  the  English,  who  then  withdrew  from  the 
-country  (1881). 

Of  the  great  British  possessions  of  Australia  and  the 
neighboring  islands,  nothing  has  yet  been  said.  By  right 
of  discovery  and  early  exploration,  they  belonged  to  the 
Dutch,  and  until  the  beginning  of  the  present  century 
Australia  was  called  New  Holland.  The  Dutch,  however, 
did  not  follow  up  their  discoveries  by  making  settlements, 
and  it  was  reserved  for  English  enterprise  to  transform 
the  wastes  of  the  great  islands  into  populous  countries. 
Captain  Cook  visited  them  several  times  from  1769  to 
1777,  and  did  much  toward  drawing  attention  to  their 
capacities  for  development.  Other  explorers  followed 
him,  and  about  twenty  years  after  his  first  visit  a  penal 
settlement  was  established  at  Port  Jackson,  in  New  South 
Wales  (1782).  The  exportation  of  criminals  from  Eng- 
land practically  ceased  in  1839,  although  many  still 
remained  who  were  serving  life -sentences,  or  sentences 
for  a  term  of  years.  In  1851  the  discovery  of  gold  in 
Australia  by  a  miner  from  California,  caused  a  rush  to 
that  continent,  of  adventurers,  many  of  whom  became 
permanent  settlers.  The  gold-fever  abated  after  a  while, 
having  run  its  usual  course;  but  the  prosperity  born  of 
enterprise  and  industry  is  ever  increasing.  Enthusiasts 
look  forward  to  some  day  in  the  far  future  when  the 
empire  of  the  world  shall  be  transplanted  from  the  North 
Atlantic  to  these  regions,  its  exact  antipodes. 

In  1880  the  Liberal  party  were  again  in  the  ascend- 
ant. Lord  Beaconsfield,  conservative,  who  had  been  in 
power  since  1874,  resigned,  and  Mr.  Gladstone  became 
prime  minister  for  the  second  time.  The  great  struggle 
in  Ireland  against  the  alleged  oppression  of  tenants  by 


TREATY  OF  BERLIN.     EGYPT.     JUBILEE.      411 

landlords  was  then  going  on;  and  an  Irish  Land -Bill 
was  passed,  which,  though  making  great  concessions, 
failed  to  give  satisfaction  to  the  malcontents.  The 
leader  of  the  agitators,  Mr.  Parnell,  was  president  of  a 
"Land  League"  for  the  promotion  of  the  interests  of 
tenants,  which  league  also  demanded  "home-rule"  (the 
reestablishment  of  the  Irish  Parliament);  a  question 
not  yet  settled  (1891). 

The  disestablishment  of  the  Irish  Church  (which  re- 
lieves the  Catholic  Irish  from  the  support  of  the  Church 
•of  England  in  Ireland),  went  into  effect  Jan.  i,  1871. 

The  reforms  demanded  by  the  Chartists  first  in  1839 
and  again  in  1848,  long  continued  a  subject  of  discus- 
sion in  Parliament.  After  many  years  of  altercation, 
certain  changes  were  made  by  the  efforts  of  Mr.  Disraeli 
{1867),  which  for  the  present  have  laid  the  vexed  ques- 
tion to  rest.  The  property  qualification  for  members  of 
Parliament  has  been  abolished;  Jews  have  been  admit- 
ted into  that  body  (1859);  voting  by  closed  ballot  in- 
stead of  by  the  old  method  (a  show  of  hands)  has  been 
adopted,  and  a  great  extension  has  been  made  of  the 
•class  possessing  the  franchise  (right  to  vote). 

The  great  subject  of  education  has,  within  the  last 
quarter  of  a  century,  engaged  the  attention  of  Parlia- 
ment. Something  approaching  our  common-school  sys- 
tem has  been  established,  and  many  societies  have  been 
founded  for  promoting  the  enlightenment  of  the  com- 
mon people. 

In  literature,  no  period  has  been  of  such  varied  rich- 
ness as  the  nineteenth  century.  The  authors  of  the  first 
third  of  that  time  have  already  been  noticed.  Since 
then  we  have,  among  poets,  Tennyson  and  the  Brown- 


412  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 

ings;  among  novelists,  Dickens,  Thackeray,  and  George 
Eliot;  among  historians,  Macaulay,  Grote,  Hallam,  and 
Dr.  Arnold;  among  essayists,  Matthew  Arnold,  Carlyle, 
and  Ruskin;  among  men  of  science,  Darwin,  Huxley, 
and  Herbert  Spencer.  This  list  may  serve  as  a  mere 
suggestion  of  the  vast  number  of  writers  who  have  con- 
tributed to  each  of  the  branches  indicated,  as  well  as  to 
other  departments  of  literature  which  have  flourished 
during  this  brilliant  and  fruitful  period. 

In  1887,  Queen  Victoria  celebrated  her  jubilee — the 
completion  of  a  reign  of  fifty  years.  She  has  now  (1891) 
occupied  the  throne  for  a  longer  time  than  any  other 
sovereign  in  English  history  except  Henry  III.  and 
George  III.,  and  can  look  back  with  pleasure  over  a 
reign  marred  by  fewer  faults  than  that  of  any  of  her 
predecessors. 


Such  are  the  outlines  of  the  story  of  Great  Britain; 
its  beginning,  its  advance,  its  development  into  splendid 
maturity.  No  place,  no  age,  no  race,  whether  past  or 
present,  can  compare  in  interest  with  that  island,  its 
twenty  centuries,  its  sturdy  people.  If  not  the  birth- 
place of  human  freedom,  it  was  its  nursery,  school,, 
battlefield,  and  forum,  and  is  its  home.  If  not  the  foun- 
tain of  letters,  it  has  been  the  channel  wherein  their 
course  has  found  freest  and  strongest  flow.  The  tree 
of  the  knowledge  of  good  and  evil  has  grown  and  flour- 
ished in  Anglo-Saxon  soil,  and  its  fruit  is  a  system  of 
morality  and  piety,  not  perfect,  but  more  near  to  per- 
fection than  the  fruitage  of  any  other  growth,  ecclesi- 
astical or  political,  in  all  the  world. 


TREATY  OF  BERLIN.     EGYPT.     JUBILEE.      413 

Through  much  tribulation  has  England  come  to  glory. 
There  were  epochs  of  awful  blackness,  frightful  oppres- 
sion, heart-breaking  cruelty;  but  by  setting  the  points  of 
survey  far  enough  apart,  a  steady  progress  must  be  per- 
ceived. Things  often  seemed  to  be  going  to  ruin,  but 
whenever  they  got  to  the  extreme  of  hopelessness,  hope 
dawned — a  thunderstorm,  an  earthquake,  a  cataclysm 
burst  forth — and  the  light  slowly  or  suddenly  returned. 

The  firmness  of  fibre  in  the  race  is  directly  traceable 
to  the  fearful  struggles  by  which  its  freedom  and  its 
advancement  have  been  gained.  America  is  essentially 
the  child  and  heir  of  England;  we  enter  into  the  inheri- 
tance of  her  riches  of  knowledge  and  power.  Every- 
thing she  has  gained  we  enjoy.  Our  peril  is  to  be  found 
in  the  fact  that  we  come  to  the  rich  legacy  almost  as  a 
free  gift,  not  having  for  so  many  centuries  worked  for  it, 
fought  for  it,  died  for  it,  as  did  our  forefathers  in  the 
older  country.  If  we  keep  clear  of  the  peril,  it  will  be 
because  with  the  gift  we  also  inherit  the  industry,  truth, 
courage,  firmness,  virtue,  and  patriotism,  which  history 
associates  indissolubly  with  the  name  of  Englishman. 


414 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND. 


LIST    OF    SOVEREIGNS. 


SAXON  KINGS: 


EGBERT,         - 

ETHELWOLF,       .---•• 

ETHELBOLD, 

ETHELBERT, 

ETHEI.RED, 

ALFRED, 

EDWARD  (the  Elder), 

ATHELSTAN, 

EDMUND  (the  Magnificent),     -        -        -        - 

EDRED, 

EDWY,     - 

EDGAR  (the  Peaceable),       - 

EDWARD  (the  Martyr), 

ETHELRED  II.  (the  Unready),     - 

EDMUND  II.  (Ironside),  .... 

DANISH  KINGS: 

SWEYN, 

CANUTE  (the  Great), 

HAROLD  (Harefoot), 

HARDICANUTE, 

SAXON    KINGS   (RESTORED) 
EDWARD  (the  Confessor),    - 
HAROLD  II.  (Godwin), 

NORMAN    KINGS: 
WILLIAM  I.  (the  Conqueror), 

WILLIAM  II.  (Rufus), 

HENRY  I.  (Beauclerc),         .... 
STEPHEN  (of  Blois), 


827—  836 
836—  858 
858—  860- 
860—  866 
866—  872. 
872—  901 
901—  925 
925—  941 
941—  946 
946—  95S 
955—  959 
959—  975 
975—  978- 
978 — 1016 
1016 — 1016- 


1013 — 1013 
1016 — 1035 
1035—1040- 
1040 — 1042 


1042 — 1066 
1066 — 1066 


1066 — 1087 
1087 — i  loo- 
1100—1135 
1 1 35— "54 


LIST  OF  SOVEREIGNS. 


415 


PLANTAGENET   KINGS: 

HENRY  II.,         #        

1154  —  1189- 

RICHARD  I.  (Cceur  de  Lion),          .... 

1189  —  1199 

JOHN  (Lackland),         

1199  —  1216 

HENRY  III.  (of  Winchester),          .... 

1216  —  1272 

EDWARD  I.   (Longshanks),  

1272—1307 

EDWARD  II.  (of  Cairnarvon),          - 

1307—1327 

EDWARD  III.,     

1327—1377 

RICHARD  II.  (of  Bordeaux),  

I377—I399- 

"  fc  <n  (  HENRY  IV.,          

1399—1413 

u  «  55  \  HENRY  V         

I/1I7        1/127 

§£  3  1  HENRY  VI., 

1423—1461 

g  -  i  EDWARD  IV.,       

I46I—I483 

52-1  EDWARD  V.,     

pj   *•    ] 

1483—1483. 

o  x  (  RICHARD  III.,      

1483—1485 

TUDOR    KINGS: 

HENRY  VII.,       

1485—1509- 

HENRY  VIII.,         

1509—1547 

EDWARD  VI.,      

I547—I553 

MARY,     

1553—1558- 

ELIZABETH,         >        

1558—1605 

STUART    KINGS: 

JAMES  I.,        

1603  1625 

CHARLES  I.,        

1625  1648 

(COMMONWEALTH),         

1648  1660- 

CHARLES  II.,      

1660—1685 

JAMES  II.,      

1685—1688 

WILLIAM  III.,  |         

1689  —  1702 

MARY  II.,          i    

1689  1694 

ANNE,          

1702  1724 

BRUNSWICK    KINGS: 

GEORGE  I.,      

I7I4—I727 

GEORGE  II.,        

1727  1760- 

GEORGE  III.,           

1760  l82O 

GEORGE  IV.,       

1820  1830 

WILLIAM  IV.,        

l83O  l837 

VICTORIA,   

1837- 

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